


Love Cake

by Jamesmall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Bottom Louis, Famous Harry, Insecure Louis, Kinda, M/M, Mafia AU, Mobster Harry, Oblivious Louis, Older Harry, Protective Harry, Protective Niall, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rich Harry, Top Harry, Violence, harry is about 26, louis is 21
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 69,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5587015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamesmall/pseuds/Jamesmall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles is a pretty well-known mobster in the underground world with the largest gang in England.  Like any other gang, you need a front to deter the police from your hideout.  The front is Styles' Bakery, a dingy bakery that has been hiring for any employee for years.  One day, Louis finds an ad for this job and obliviously takes it.  Harry thinks Louis is too cute to get rid of.</p><p>or</p><p>I really wanted to write a fic on mobster!harry and somewhat innocent!Louis</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. As seen on the paper

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic on this site, so we shall see how this goes. No promises on posting, quality, or creativity. I don't know where the story will go entirely so the tags and warnings will go as follow. Constructive criticism is welcomed.

April is a pretty shitty month. One thing England is good for, rain. One thing April is good for, rain. April in England means, more rain. It's almost as if Mother Nature just wants to rinse the dirty city of London from its...dirt for lack of a better word. The pounding rain seems to dampen the emblematically noisy streets of downtown London. It could be poetic, if it didn't mess with Louis' plans for boarding. Thus, Louis had to find other ways to spend his time. 

“You have to get a job” Stan says while he bandages Louis' knee. “I don't mind that you don't pay your share of the rent, you just need something to do instead of literally killing yourself of boredom.” he finishes.

“Stan, we have already spoken about this. My secondary school education does not get me very far. I'm still waiting for a sugar daddy to pick me up.” Louis says as a matter-of-fact. Stan just gives him a look as if to say really? while putting a finishing touch to Louis' spider man band-aid, it's a common look between them.

“Well until that works out, I think that you should get a small job that could keep you out of the house” Stan suggests.

“You want to get rid of me so easily!” Louis whines ending with a pout on his face and his wide eyes.

This conversation happens about every time Louis hurts himself while goofing off. This time he decided to test out his hand-railing skills with his skateboard. It didn't end well.

“There we go, good as new. I think I might get you some padding before you try out your skateboard again.” Stan says as he stands up. This earns an eye-roll from Louis.

“Thanks, dad. I'll be sure to check with you next time I want to have any type of fun” Louis states, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Stan ignores Louis, as per usual, and heads toward the kitchen to put away the first aid kit, not used in just emergencies anymore.

Louis hops off of the dining table and runs to the living room. He hops onto the couch and grabs a controller is about to turn on the TV when he spots something. “Stan! In this day and age there are still newspapers!?” Louis shouts behind him as he picks up the wad of papers. 

“I found it in front of our door this morning. Must be one of those free ones.” Stan shouts back, the sound of the stove turning on can be heard. He must be making tea. “Make sure you make me my Yorkshire!” Louis shouts back. “Milk and no sugar” Stan shouts automatically. 

Louis looks back at the paper and sees right in front of his eyes an eye-catching advertisement.

YOUNG WORKER WANTED AT STYLES' BAKERY/NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED  
MUST BE OVER 18

Louis reads the ad with renewed excitement. He hasn't been able to find a job since they laid him off at Pound-Land for arriving late to work one too many times. Not too many places want to hire a scruffy man with tattoos and only a secondary education. It's not his fault he decided to take a road trip instead of uni. Stan decided not to join him and ended up with a Master's in Psychology and a solid job at Gordon Psych. When Louis eventually came back with more tattoos and less hair, Stan took him into his London flat with open arms. It's good to know that a friend in need is your friend indeed. Speaking of, “Stan! I think I found my next job!” Louis shouts.

Stan walks in with two mugs of tea. He sets one of them down in front of Louis and leans back with his arms on the back of the couch. “Styles' Bakery...that's the one two blocks from our flat. I haven't seen too much activity in there, it seems pretty sketchy that you don't need any experience to work there. You sure you want to do this?” Stan asks, his paternal tone taking over.

“It's in the paper, it has to be trustworthy. Plus, it's so close and you know I hate the tube. It's like the ad was written just for me.” Louis defends with the paper close to his chest. It's pretty obvious that Stan has already given up and Louis runs over his room to change. 

Louis stands in front of his closet with his hands on his hips. All of his clothes seem too unprofessional, but a job at a bakery doesn't sound like a very professional job to begin with. Louis decides on a grey jumper that he “accidentally” bought three sizes too big and black skinnies with white vans. He looks at himself in the mirror and figures that a bakery can't not hire him based on his messy hair. With one final look, he heads toward the front door. Stan is waiting with an umbrella in his hand. Louis nods at him and grabs the umbrella and keys. 

“Don't talk to strangers.” Stan says as Louis walks out. 

“Only if they're hot.” Louis throws behind him. He closes the door behind him and heads toward the stairs, they swear that they're going to fix the elevator. 

The rain only seems to increase when Louis walks out of his complex. It almost seems like a sign for Louis to stay at home, good thing that Louis is extremely oblivious. His umbrella does its job for about three meters before it all goes to shit. His umbrella flips inside out with a strong gust of wind, his phone is knocked out of his hand with the force of it, and the rain pours all over his person. Now drenched and looking like a wet cat, Louis marches over to the small bakery.

The building is squeezed between empty stores and has an overall creepy vibe. The sign is red and reads “Styles' Bakery” with the “ry” not glowing. The paint on the building is peeling back to reveal brick with green ivy growing on the corners and sides. The only windows on the building appear to be two stories up and the double doors look like they haven't been opened in years. Louis hesitates before deciding to go inside through the double doors.

The interior is uncharacteristically bare for a bakery. The tiled floor is dusty and matches well with the dirty tables and dusty, mismatched armchairs. The only light in the room being hanging lamps above the sales counter. The staffing area looked at least a little cleaner. The display case showed different cakes, muffins, and cookies that looked surprisingly delicious considering their dwelling. 

Louis' examination is soon interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Louis looks up to see a man the same height as him walk toward him. The man has blonde-dyed hair with obvious brunette roots and a scowl on his face. 

“Umm...hi?”


	2. First Meeting

“Umm...hi?” Louis says to the angry looking man.

“Who are you and what do you want with us” the man says, his Irish accent easily detectable.

“I-I um...came for a job.” Louis stammered, his fear evident.

The Irish man looked shocked at this, his face no longer looking as tense, but no morphed with confusion. “You don't look like our typical applicant...” he says slowly.

Louis bristles at this, “I just saw your ad in the paper and thought-”

“You're here to work at the bakery?!” the young man says as if Louis just admitted to fucking a nun. Louis has not fucked a nun nor stated anything preposterous. “I mean, I guess you could work at the bakery if you wanted let me speak to the boss-man.” the man nods at himself and disappears back into the door. With that Louis is left alone to ponder on the previous happenings and he even thinks about running, but he is in too deep to go back now.

There is the sound of hushed voices behind the door and suddenly it opens again. This time, the Irish man is accompanied by a god. Well, not a god, but a very attractive man. This man with beautiful curly hair to his shoulders has a matching scowl with the Irish one. Maybe it's contagious. But this man's ability to rock a woman's blouse is astounding. At least that's what it looks like he is wearing. It goes well with his painted-on black jeans and dark brown ankle boots. 

The sex god-I mean handsome man walks closer to Louis, leaning in with a skeptical face. “You're wet, get a towel.” he states, that's all he has to say. He nods at Louis and walks back through the door. Weird.

“That seems to be his approval. Welcome to the bakery. I'm Niall.” Niall tells Louis with his hand out to shake. 

Louis sticks his hand out, “Oh, thanks man. My name's Louis. Didn't expec-achoo!” he sneezes into his own hand.

Niall reaches behind him and grabs a towel. He wraps Louis up in the fluffy towel, “There ya go. Can't have his boy-I mean you, getting a cold.” he says.

Louis keeps the excitement on the inside as he is stoked about finally getting a job. His weekly calls with mum have proven to be disappointing when all she wants to bring up is his love life or work life. Both have been fairly vacant considering Louis' youth. Apparently occasionally babysitting for friends and Facebook stalking really hot people from his old school does not constitute as his work and love life.

“Thanks mate. When do I start?” Louis asks while Niall still rubs him with the towel.

“Oh yeah. Um...just come in at 8, we'll talk about the rest of it from there.” he says with finality.

“Ok...bye. I guess.” Louis shrugs, “D'you want the towel? Or is this just a freebie to welcome to the job?” he jokes. It was a bad joke but Niall cackled anyway.

“Just keep the towel. See you tomorrow,Louis.” Niall pats his back and leads him outside. The rain has stopped by now and the sky looks as sunny as an April in England can be.

Louis gets back to the flat with a better attitude than before. He walks into his room and peels off his clothes. When he walks into their shared bathroom it's decision making time. Bath or shower. Well, he got a job today. Today deserves a bath. The bath warms Louis' soul and shivering body. It also gives Louis some time to think about that sex god from today. Yeah...a lot of time. 

Louis eventually makes his way down to the kitchen. He is led by the smell of delicious pancakes. Stan is making the only food he knows how to make, so that means it is talking time. When Louis walks into the kitchen, he is welcomed by the sight of a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Today is a good day. 

“So tell me about the job. I'm assuming you got it because The Titanic isn't playing on the tele.” Stan says while flipping the last pancake onto the plate.

“That is a good movie no matter how much you bash on it. And the job sounds pretty good. I think the inside of the place has some cleaning up to be done to it, but it sounds pretty good.” Louis shrugs while reaching to grab a pancake with his hands before Stan slaps his hands.

“You keep saying that it sounds good. What did they tell you to do?” Stan asks as he carries the plate of pancakes and an extra plate into the dining room.

“Nothing really. I met the guys I'm probably working for, they seem nice.” Louis says while carrying two glasses of milk.

“Sounds pretty suspicious mate, but I trust your judgment. Just know that I am a phone call away.” Stan sits down and has his “responsible” face on.

“Stan, my man. It's fine. Don't give me that face when I've seen you make worse decisions with just a sip of whiskey. And plus, the man that I work for is extremely hot, I trust him.” Louis states before digging into his pancakes.

Stan sighs, “Just because a person is hot does not mean that they are trustworthy.” he reprimands before eating his share. Louis chooses to ignore this comment and enjoy his breakfast for dinner. 

They boys soon clean up after themselves, a.k.a. Stan cleans up after them, and play some Fifa before heading to bed.

Louis makes his nightly call with his mum and gets the usual questions.

“Mum, I will have you know that I got a job today.” Louis proudly states to his mom through his phone while getting into bed.

“That's great boo! What are you doing?” Jay asks as politely and harsh as a concerned mother can.

“It's at a bakery mum. The guys there are super nice and I don't think I will have to actually bake. It looks like someone else does that work.” Louis excitedly tells her. 

“Oh thank goodness boo. I would hate for you to lose your job for burning down their kitchen. Especially in London, one little fire and the next thing you know you almost burn the neighbor's cat.” Jay says seriously.

“One time.” Louis mutters.

“I tease because I love you boo. You are going to tell me all about your first day tomorrow.” Jay says.

“I most definitely will mum. Love you too.” Louis says before hanging up. He should call a little earlier tomorrow so that he can hear his sisters and tease them about boys. Since that's all they do to him. He's just happy that he now has a little brother that can be the source of their entertainment while he's gone. While he misses their calls, he does not miss being teased by children. 

It's when Louis lies back in bed and is about to close his eyes when he remembers. Something that they do for every job that they didn't even do today. Something that will bug him all night and all morning. Something so essential to Louis that he will get no sleep tonight.

What does he have to wear?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive Criticism is appreciated.   
> My tumblr is: Jamesmall  
> So different, I know


	3. Consternation

Louis woke up the next morning in a flurry. He had to get the right outfit. It's too cold for just a jumper today. It's too warm for a coat. Maybe he could wear layers. Yeah...layers. He could wear a printed Adidas shirt with a jean jacket. Then just throw in the signature “ass-framing” skinnies as Stan liked to call them, wack on some white converse and you got an outfit.

Stan is already at the Phsyc by now so Louis just has to eat his cereal, spend an hour in front of the mirror staring at his hair, and then hurriedly brush his teeth and sprint out of the door.

Louis gets a text when he's walking out of the door from Stan,

Good luck @ the new job! Call me if you need me! <3

Louis has to smile at Stan's efforts to comfort him, he's such a good friend. 

When Louis walks into the bakery this time, it seems as if they were waiting for him. He walks in to see Niall, some bulky guy with a quiff, and a redhead are sitting facing the door. They all look up when Louis walks in, his insecurities increasing tenfold.

“Loueh! How ya doin?” Niall asks as he walks up to Louis hugs him. If Louis tenses up with unfamiliarity then Niall doesn't say anything. “These are some of the other guys. The quiffy one is Liam, he's a teddy bear. Don't be scared by the muscles. And there's Ed, doesn't say much so don't be offended if he's doesn't start talking to you.” Niall assures him.

“No, Niall. Pretty sure you're the only one who immediately warms up to everyone. Something's going to happen to you one of these days I swear.” Liam says as he stands up.

Niall just shrugs at this and smiles at Louis. Ed walks up to Louis and gets uncomfortably close to his face. Louis can see the flecks of grey in his blue eyes he is that close. However, just as quick as he came, he was gone. 

“I guess I should tell you a bit more about this 'job' now that you're here.” Niall says to Louis as if nothing had happened. “We won't give you too much to do since, as you can see, we don't have much of a crowd.” Niall says gesturing to the empty space around them. “You'll just have to man the counter and maybe clean this place up a bit. We won't give you any type of dress code, so just wear whatever is comfortable. We decided to start you off with £6.50 an hour and we'll go from there.” Niall tells Louis while Louis just tries to keep up. It's a lot to take in and Louis feels a bit overwhelmed.

Louis just nods along and then follows Niall as he leads him into the back room, leaving Liam in the main room fiddling with is phone. The back room is surprisingly well-kept and probably serves as the kitchen area with an oven and tons of counter space. It begs the question of who works back here since it's is almost hauntingly clean considering the beautiful pastries that are displayed in the case. “Don't go through that door on the other side, just never try to. You don't have to worry about coming back here anyway, we already have someone to bake. Even though no one but us ends up eating it.” Niall says interrupting Louis' thoughts.

It is wonderfully ataractic that Louis doesn't have to work in the kitchen. For everyone's safety.

They walk back into the room to see Liam talking to someone on the phone.  
“He could be anywhere! Keep looking. Get back to me on any updates and remember the nice reward whoever finds him receives.” Liam says before hanging up. His face is screwed up in frustration and he storms through the back room.

“Well I gotta go do some stuff, so just...start working I guess.” Niall shrugs before disappearing into the kitchen. And now Louis is all alone. This might get old real quick. He probably should clean up a little bit in here. Pffft. He's not cleaning up.

Louis passes the time by playing games on his phone, but playing Candy Crush can only keep someone occupied for so long. Okay, maybe he can clean up a little bit. He finds a broom and a trash can in the kitchen, the least intimidating cleaning supplies there are. 

He sweeps up the floor behind the counter and really starts to get into it. He pulls out his phone and starts playing Single Ladies to add to this whole experience. It's when he starts to sweep under the tables in the eating area that his broom hits something. He stops and crouches down to get the object. When he touches it, he doesn't understand. 

Louis lifts up a gun. He immediately drops it and becomes very afraid. Why is there a gun there? Why would someone bring a gun into here? Did it belong to someone here? Is he going to be killed? Should he run while he still can?

“Louis?” Niall can be heard from the counter, he must be coming in to check up on Louis. He can't find Louis who is shaking underneath one of the tables with a gun beside him. “Louis! Where'd ya go buddy?!” Niall yells, his desperation evidently growing in his voice.

Niall walks beside the table Louis is shaking under and bends down. An audible sigh can be heard when Niall sees that Louis has not left. He also sees that Louis is shaking and can't help but immediately think the worst. “Louis, mate. What's wrong?” Niall says with as much encouragement in his voice as possible.

Louis shakily lifts up his hand and points to the gun that lies a few meters away from him. Niall looks up and sees the weapon. He hurriedly grabs the gun and makes sure the magazine is empty, almost by habit. Louis is too busy hiding is face in his arms and attempting to steady his breathing to notice Niall doing any of this. Niall puts the gun on the table and realizes that Louis is probably terrified. He sits down beside Louis on the floor and reaches his arms around Louis and maneuvers Louis into his lap so that his head is on his chest.

“Shhhh. It's alright. Nobody is going to hurt you. I would probably get murdered before you get a single scratch.” Niall whispers to Louis with an undertone of brutal honesty. Eventually Louis calms down and he is reduced to dry heaves. Niall is able to help Louis into the kitchen and sit him on a counter while he makes him a cuppa. 

“Thanks. It seems to be a running theme here that you want to keep me warm.” Louis jokes while lightly swinging his legs back and forth. He is much calmer now and is wary about asking Niall as to why there was a gun in their bakery.

“No worries, Lou. I promise that you will never feel uncomfortable when you are here. I literally have no choice.” Niall says the last part mostly to himself while he hands Louis the mug. “That gun in there must have been left here by some type of rowdy customer. That gun hasn't been used in a long time, so it probably wasn't even from when we started this business. I'm sorry you had to see that.” Niall tells Louis with his hands on the counter next to him.

Louis nods along, “That makes sense. I got scared for no reason then.” he shrugs and sips on the tea.

“No, no. Anyone in their right mind would be alarmed at the sight of a gun.” Niall assures Louis with a pat on the shoulder. After Louis finishes up his tea and Niall and him spend some time talking about the latest football match, Niall dismisses Louis from work.

“You'll come back tomorrow right?” Niall asks Louis while holding the door for Louis to walk out.

“Of course mate.” Louis assures while slipping his jean jacket on and walking out. It's getting pretty dark out by now as it is almost dinner time.

“Text me when you get home.” Niall says finally before closing the door behind Louis.

Louis gets back to his flat and sends Niall his text before heating up some leftovers in the microwave. Stan is still at the Psych and let Louis know that he won't be home until later. Louis turns on the tele as he sits down with his dinner in one hand. The first channel that he turns to is the news. A woman is speaking to the camera from the side of a river with EMERGENCY ALERT on the top of the screen.

“Two bodies have been found in the River Rom this morning by stray hikers. The bodies have evident traces of gunshot wounds and have been identified as brothers Berry and Bart Collins. The victims have been on the run for three months as suspected rapists and murderers.” the woman on the tele states before the camera shows two news reporters back in the news room.

Louis has heard of the two rapists running around and can now rest easy knowing that they aren't running around anymore. It doesn't seem right that they were just murdered and disposed of, but they probably tried to kill someone else. Louis can't help but wonder what kind of person shot them multiple times and he gets a little bit scared. He then remembers Niall's words from earlier that day, Louis knows that he will stay safe as long as Niall is a phone call away. 

He will stay protected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has all been a form of setting for the rest of the fic. The next chapters should be a lot longer. Constructive Criticism is appreciated!


	4. Thinking of you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every now and then when I would type this, my pinky would accidentally hit caps lock so it would seem that I'm REALLY EXCITED about whatever I was writing.

“I thought that the Irish could drink forever and never get hangovers.” Louis comments as Niall is groaning with his head down on the counter. A few days after the gun incident, Louis arrived at work only to receive a hungover Niall in his arms whining about his head. Louis simply retrieves him a glass of orange juice and some aspirin he found in the kitchen. A few hours later and here they are.

“I'm not indestructible Lou.” Niall says to the counter. Louis should probably clean more today. He'll wait until Niall leaves to go do something.

“Although, he did drink enough to kill a man.” Liam says walking in. He's wearing a white tank top and some black joggers with a towel around his neck. He is drenched in sweat, but is smiling like he has never felt more alive. “I'm taking a break for a bit before headin' back to the weights. Can you make me a protein shake, Lou? The recipe should be in the kitchen.” Liam asks Louis before sitting down beside Niall.

“Sure.” Louis says. He can deal with a blender, it's when an oven or toaster enters the question that the danger increases. He heads into the kitchen and quickly finds the recipe behind the inside of one of the cupboard doors. The smoothie seems pretty gross. The protein powder combined with vegetables and light cream turns the mixture into a brown colour. Louis brings the shake to Liam and immediately rejects his offer of a sip. This makes Liam laugh for a bit before taking some huge gulps. Bleh.

Liam talks to Lou for a little while about last night's happenings at the club. They apparently went to the clubs with their friend Ed and partied like it was 1999. Both Liam and Ed stayed back a bit and just watched Niall flirt and drink his mind away. Liam and Louis are soon laughing at Niall's antics before being quickly silenced by Niall. Louis' mind is suddenly brought back to the news story last night. From the places the guys are describing, it sounds like they were near by the river that the bodies were found by. Louis starts getting concerned.

“Wasn't that all by the river that the dead bodies were? Did you guys see anything? Are you alright?” Louis asks Liam with worry evidently etched in his tone. Niall's head shoots up and looks at Louis with wide eyes. He immediately regrets it and clutches his pounding head. Liam sets Niall's groaning head back down and looks at Louis.

“No, we didn't see anything. How did you know about that?” Liam assures Louis and asks him. 

“On the news. They reported on the bodies being found. It's not too upsetting considering what those animals have done.” Louis mumbles the last part and stares down at his shoes. Liam seems more relaxed after Louis says this and stands up with a smile back on his face.

“You don't have to worry about us, Louis.” Liam says while setting his glass down. He smiles at Louis and pats his shoulder then walks back out from where he came. Niall groans louder at the sound of the door closing. 

Louis picks up the glass to clean it in the sink. It's while he is scrubbing at the caked-on smoothies bits that his mind wanders to the hot guy from before. Liam didn't mention him in his stories about last night and none of the guys have mentioned him since Louis 'met' him. If that's what one would call it. Their meeting was too brief for Louis' liking. He is the prettiest man that Louis has seen in a long time and Louis likes the distraction that it gives him. Maybe that man is busy at some office job that he has. He looked like the type to have a high-paying job. Louis can't stop thinking about him in a suit now. It's a good thought. Maybe he would be sitting at his desk and his button-down is folded up at the elbows. He is leaning toward a computer with a concentrated face on. His hair is tousled from running his own hands through it because of frustration. His tie is loosened- 

“You really like cleaning that cup.” Niall comments to Louis. Louis realizes that he's been thinking about that man and got completely distracted from cleaning his cup. He blushes and sets the cup on the counter to dry while staring at the floor. “Thinking about anyone special?” Niall questions with his eyebrows raised.

“Maybe...” Louis mumbles to Niall. Niall's eyebrows go impossibly higher at this. He seems to almost get nervous and waits for Louis to continue. “Can you...tell me the name of...” Louis starts, almost embarrassed at asking.

“the name of...” Niall prompts.

“...that guy that I met on my first day here. With the curly hair.” Louis motions the shape of a tall guy with his hands before finding fascination in the tile on the floor again. Niall lets out a gush of breath at this and looks completely relieved. 

“His name is Harry. Do you want to meet him again?” Niall asks Louis with a huge smile on his face. Louis nods at this, picking at his lip and drawing patterns on the floor with his shoe. It's nice to have a name he can shout in his dreams from now on. Niall has this massively goofy smile on his face and can't stop looking at Louis with joy. Louis is a little creeped out but can't help but share Niall's joy. Niall's joy is extremely contagious, like yawns and giggles. 

With that thought Louis starts yawning and Niall grabs Louis' jacket. “I think it's time that you head on home. You stayed pretty late today. I promise that you can meet Harry tomorrow.” Niall says to Louis and helps him into his black jean jacket. They bid one another good-bye and Louis makes it back to his flat.

Louis walks in and shuts the door behind him. He hears laughter in the living room and cautiously makes his way into it. He sees Stan laughing with some quiffy guy with a big mouth. Stan seems to notice Louis and waves him into the room.

“Hey Lou! Hope you don't mind that I have a friend over tonight. He really needed a place to stay and I figured that he would be out of here before you even wake up. His name is Nick.” Stan says.

Nick walks up to Louis and grabs his biceps. Nick gets close to Louis' ear and whispers “So nice to finally meet you Louis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nick Grimshaw is a creepy man. Constructive Criticism is appreciated!


	5. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any of you can visit my grave. My tombstone shall read, "Death By AP Classes".

Nick is creepy. No. Really creepy. Louis is really creeped out by Nick. He tries to get close to Louis all evening and keeps complimenting Louis. Louis is able to eventually escape to his room and relax. He makes his call with his mother and is even able to talk to his sisters. All the talk about boys leads to Louis having a very naughty dream that night about a certain fit boy. It bothers him for a little while before he remembers that he gets to meet that fit boy again today.

He slips on his skinnies and long-sleeved football shirt from school with a little more pep. He skips a few steps when he goes down and completely forgot about Nick's stay at their flat. He runs into Nick in the kitchen when he tries to get his morning cuppa. Sipping from Louis' favorite mug, the man only looks more sinister and gives Louis a bad feeling. He decides to forgo his cuppa and just escape to work before Nick notices.

Unluckily, Nick notices him right as he opens the door. “Louis!” Nick shouts after him. Louis politely stops and looks to Nick. He has an eldritch smile on his face and a knit hat in his hand. “It's a bit chilly out. You should wear a hat.” Nick says while holding out the article of clothing. Louis is too nice to decline and lets Nick put it on his head. He intends to take it off as soon as he gets outside, but true to Nick's word it is actually cold out.

Louis makes the quickest commute to work that he ever has and is in front of the double doors in no time. He hesitates before opening the doors and looking into the building. He is disappointed to only see Niall sitting at the counter. He walks all the way in and mopes a little bit. Niall turns around at the sound of the door opening and smiles at Louis.

“Upset that your boy isn't here?” Niall questions Louis with a grin. Louis doesn't comment on this and just walks closer to Niall. 

The door to the kitchen suddenly opens and Harry walks in. He has an air of importance surrounding him while his boots clink against the tile. He's wearing a white tee under a leather jacket with impossibly-tight black jeans and dirty combat boots. He is walking toward Louis and Louis's heart rate picks up significantly. Harry gets closer to Louis and gets in his face. Déjà vu.

He smiles at Louis and steps back. “Hello there, little one.” Harry says in a deep voice. Louis feels that he should be more insulted by the jab at his height, but he can't find it in himself to care. He stares at Harry's eyes for a span of time, just now noticing the green. He realizes that he has been staring for too long and stares at the floor. His ears a nice pink tint that is nicely hidden by the hat. 

“Hello, Harry.” Louis mumbles.

Harry coos at this and takes a step towards Louis, but also seems to notice the hat. “Take off your hat and stay a while.” he jokes while taking off the hat. 

Louis looks up at him in time to see Harry's face morph from absolute joy to raging anger. He is glaring down at the hat, especially the initials etched into the hat, 'NG'. Harry's eyes shoot back up to Louis' face and almost burns him with the intensity of his stare. He looks between Louis and the hat with confusion and anger, before looking back at Louis and taking a stride toward him. He gets back into Louis' face and shouts “WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?!”. Louis stares back at him with wide, fearful eyes and starts to stutter, “I-I-”. 

One moment Louis is shaking in front of Harry and all of a sudden Louis is facing Niall's chest. Whether it was Niall's doing or his own who forced him there. Louis feels tears pooling into his eyes and shuts them as tight as he can. He can hear Niall and Harry arguing, but is too focused on calming his own breathing.

“Why would he have Nick's hat!? Do you think he works for him and just trying to trick us?!” Harry yells at Niall with the hat clutched in his shaking hand. He thrusts it in Niall's face like it is the evidence for a crime.

Niall is calmly petting Louis' hair, “There's no way someone like Lou could work for that animal. Why don't we try to ask him more calmly so that we don't scare him off.” Niall calmly suggests to Harry. Harry sighs at this and takes some deep breathes to calm himself for Louis. Once he is calmer, he lightly touches Louis' shoulder. The way that Louis flinches away almost makes Harry cry.

“Louis? I just want to know where you got the hat from, babe.” Harry inquires in a gentle voice. The pet name grabs Louis' attention and makes him face Harry. Niall still has his hand on Louis' back, but he walks one small step away. Louis looks up at Harry timidly and is encouraged by Harry's slight smile.

“S-Some guy named Nick gave me it this morning. He's staying at my flat because he's friends with my flatmate, I don't know him. He's really creepy.” Louis confesses to Harry with his eyes up to his lips. Harry smiles at Louis' answer and sets the hat on the counter.

“Thanks for being honest, babe. I trust you.” Harry says while pulling Louis into his chest. Niall's eyes widen at Harry's words and decides to give the boys some alone time. He has a premonition that he might have to do that a lot in the near future.

Harry is holding Louis close to his heart and Louis is enjoying every bit of it. He doesn't understand why Harry would get so angry over some stupid hat, but he loves the contact he got out of it. Louis is now able to feel that broad chest that he has been dreaming about. 

“Did that man touch you?” Harry asks in a whisper. He is a lot quieter than before so that he does not frighten Louis again. Louis doesn't answer Harry and he gets impatient. So he repeats the question a little louder, “Did that man touch you, Louis?” he asks.

Louis cuddles in closer to Harry's chest and shakes his head in denial. Nick never did instigate anything with contact. His words were enough to keep Louis out of his way. 

Harry is more and more relaxed with this new information. He was worried that someone had tainted his little boy, and he wouldn't stand for anyone getting near him when Louis is his. Louis did have to eventually know that he belongs to Harry. It is a fact that was immediately confirmed through Louis' belligerence to come back to the bakery. 

Time does not go slow enough for Louis, as Harry soon pulls away from him. If Louis lets out a little whine, and stares down at the ground in time to miss Harry's growing smirk. Harry grabs Louis' chin and lifts it up so that they can make eye contact. Harry stares deeply into Louis' eyes as if his whole world is in there and he's trying to find it. “I was wondering if you could join me tonight. A friend of mine opened up a restaurant and I was offered a meal for two.” Harry says to Louis, never looking away from his eyes.

Louis isn't incompetent. In his brain, he knows that this is an invitation for a date. As does the rest of his body apparently. As his heart rate picks up, little butterflies seem to flutter all throughout his abdomen and Louis' eyes only focus on Harry's face. The rest of the world has been determined as unimportant.

“Of course, if you'll have me.” Louis says, his eyes showing nothing but adoration. Harry preens at this.

“I will always have you.” Harry says, the connotation behind it not entirely reaching Louis' comprehension. “I have to go now. I can pick you up tonight at six. Niall can tell me your apartment number. Wear a shirt with buttons.” Harry tells Louis before crushing him into a quick hug against his chest again. And with that, he leaves. Louis stuck dumb-founded in the middle of the room, probably forming a drool puddle underneath himself. 

Niall soon walks in and can't help but laugh at Louis' state. Louis' eyes are glossed over and it almost looks like he is kicking one of his heels behind him. Louis startles at the laughter and realizes that Niall caught him in a daze yet again. He needs to stop daydreaming about Harry. It's reducing his IQ to that of a five year old. Niall doesn't seem to mind, he appears to find joy in Louis thinking about Harry, oddly enough.

Louis and Niall eventually are sitting back at the counter and talking about the last football match, Louis thinks that the winning team cheated. They spend a long time just talking about footie and Louis even brings up the times when he played footie in school. Niall perks up at this and starts to inquire about Louis' school life before Louis dismisses him.

“You don't want to know about me in school. It was boring and embarrassing.” Louis tells Niall with finality. Niall pouts at this and accepts this for now. He then looks down at his watch and smiles at Louis.

“You can go home now. I'm sure you want plenty of time to get ready for yer' hot date.” Niall tells Louis while wiggling his eyebrows and winking. Louis blushes at this, but doesn't deny anything. When he gets up to go, he also goes to grab the hat. Niall puts his hand on Louis' and just gives him a look.

“Yeah. I should probably leave it here.” Louis says. 

The boys bid their good-byes and Louis makes his way home. Luckily enough, Nick isn't there when Louis gets back and the relief that floods Louis is a little worrying. He shouldn't be so scared of a friend of Stan's. He shakes the thoughts of Nick out of his head and focuses on the task at hand. He has to pick out an outfit, shave his face, maybe shave everything, and do his hair. He only has an hour to do all of this, but he's done it all in shorter amounts of time.

Eventually Louis is looking at himself in the mirror to make sure that he is completely ready to go. His face is smooth, his hair is feathery, and his body is soft. He is wearing a short-sleeved, dark blue button-up with white buttons and tight-fitting khakis. He is also donning white vans without socks and he's never felt more nervous. What if Harry looks better than him? Who is he kidding. Harry will probably look better than him. It's Harry for god's sake.

Louis' worried thoughts are interrupted by the sound of their doorbell. He politely asked for Stan to stay in his room, as he does not want to experience the awkward flatmate-meets-crush scenario. He makes his way downstairs and rubs his sweaty palms onto his pants before jumping the gun and just opening the door. 

Harry looks up and sees Louis. “Hey babe.” he says. His body is relaxed with an arms behind his back while his eyes are too busy checking Louis out. Louis has no room to speak as he is also completely checking Harry out. He is wearing a black, two-piece suit with the jacket completely undone. His white button-up is unbuttoned to show a few of his chest tattoos and his black shoes shine brightly to match the look. Harry's hair looks softer than ever, with his curls resting delicately on his shoulders. His dimples are popping out as he sees that Louis has no shame in looking Harry up and down, until Louis sees Harry noticing.

“You look gorgeous. Prettiest boy I've ever seen. The prettiest boy should have the prettiest flowers” Harry compliments Louis while pulling out a bouquet of pastel roses of pink and white. Louis graciously takes the flowers and politely excuses himself to put them in a vase. Before Louis can leave, Harry quickly pulls a white rose out of the bouquet and folds up the stem. He quickly bends the stem of the rose into Louis' hair so that Louis is now wearing the rose. Harry's eyes crinkle up at the sight while Louis blushes at this and walks away to put the bouquet in a vase. 

Louis comes back, “You look gorgeous, too.” Louis shyly says. 

“Thanks, babe. We better get going. I'm expected to be there in a half an hour.” Harry informs Louis.

Louis locks up the door behind them and takes Harry's hand as he leads them to his car. To say that the car is expensive-looking is an understatement. It's a white Porche and it lacks all subtlety. Louis just drops his jaws as he is lead into the passenger side and sees the rich, leather interior. Harry catches him stroking the dashboard while getting into the driver's seat and just smirks. 

The drive is a quick one despite the far distance, both of them spend it talking about their families. They are each pleased at how much the other loves their own family and relate easily to having step-fathers. Harry is a little surprised to hear about Louis' five sisters, but finds it absolutely endearing how excited Louis gets when he talks about them.

“And here we are.” Harry announces as he pulls up to a large building. The opulence of the place puts Louis off a bit. He also feels a little uncomfortable when the staff treat him like royalty, despite Louis' appearance. Harry seems to sense his discomfort and pulls Louis closer to his side. “Don't worry about paying. My friend owns this place and said that this would be on the house.” Harry assures Louis.

They are seated soon and Louis doesn't even try to understand at the menu. He takes one glance at the Italian-named dishes and overpriced appetizers and he just puts it down. 

“You can order for me. Whatever you order would probably be better than whatever I accidentally ask for.” Louis tells Harry and crosses his arms. Harry laughs at this and pops his dimples back out.

“Don't worry, babe. I got you.” Harry says right as the waiter walks up to them. The waiter seems fairly nervous as he speaks to Harry, and Louis has no idea why. Perhaps he is also wowed by Harry's looks, or maybe he's scared because Harry is close with the owner. It's probably the latter.

Harry speaks with the waiter for a bit in fluent Italian, and to say that it turns on Louis a smidgen is a complete understatement. Harry then dismisses the waiter to go do his job and pulls his full attention back Louis.

“So, Louis.” Harry says as he leans forward on his elbows.

“La, Louis.” Louis retorts, thinking that he is the cleverest man in the room. Harry doesn't get it and shakes his head while lifting up the teapot just given to them with mugs.

“Tea, Louis?” Harry asks with the teapot in the air. Louis bursts out laughing at this and almost chokes on his own saliva. Harry becomes concerned and amused at the events that transpired. 

At Harry's confusion, Louis calms down and says, “Solfège.” to him.

“Gesundheit.” Harry replies. Louis giggles at this and Harry cracks a smile back. 

The conversation flows from there and the boys are enjoying the evening with glasses of red wine and the entrees that Harry ordered. He managed to order one of Louis' favorite dishes, lobster ravioli, and a veal marsala for himself. Louis kept insisting that it was great because Harry picked it out, but Harry denied every time.

“Don't thank me darling, thank the chef. Who should be coming out soon.” Harry says to Louis, making him blush at the pet-name.

As if Harry had rung a bell, the chef almost immediately appears in front of them. He is sweating above the brow, but keeps face and shows off his pearly whites. He's tense for a man who is speaking to his friend. “Ciao, gentlemen. How do you like the food?” He asks, with a surprisingly thick Italian accent for a man in England.

“It was lovely. Thank you!” Louis tells the chef as he pushes the empty plate away from himself.

“Oh, no no. Thank you. You're the reason that I was allowed-oof!” the chef is interrupted by Harry elbowing him in the stomach. 

“Best not to share everything at a dinner table, Antonio. Why don't you get us the check?” Harry speaks to the chef with malice laced into his tone. The chef's eyes widen and he bows and sprints off. Harry turns back to Louis and smiles.

“I was thinking that we could grab dessert at one of my favorite places.” Harry suggests to Louis while their check arrives. Louis nods at this, glad that he can spend more time with Harry.

They make it back into the car and are on their way to the next location. Louis stares out the window at the stars above him and admires the constellations. He doesn't notice Harry glancing at him and staring at him like he hung them. 

Harry eventually pulls up to an ice cream parlor that has a very rustic vibe to it. Not on purpose, but more like it has been around longer than their parents. Harry parks and walks around to help Louis out of the car. Louis is too busy staring through the window of the parlor to blush and almost immediately runs in. It's like Harry knows all of his weaknesses. He sprints to the counter where tons of ice cream tubs are sitting under glass. His face is pressed to the glass, but has to pull away before he drools all over someone's shoppe. 

“Harry!” an older woman shouts as Harry walks in behind Louis.

“Barbara!” Harry says back before being pulled into a hug by the woman. The both of them are smiling like they haven't seen each other in years, and Louis is charmed.

The woman eventually pulls away, “Now who is this?” she asks Harry while looking at Louis. Louis suddenly feels very self-conscious as the two of them look toward Louis. Harry walks to Louis and wraps his arms around his waist.

“This is Louis, Louis, this is Barbara.” Harry says, gesturing between the two. Before Louis can get a greeting in, Barbara is pulling him into a tight hug.

“It's so lovely to meet you. Harry never introduces me to anyone so you must be special, my dear.” Barbara says into his ear. Louis blushes at this and takes the comment to heart. Maybe he is special to Harry.

“Now I'm assuming you boys didn't just come in here to talk to me. What kind of ice cream do you want?” Barbara asks after pulling away from Louis. Louis genuinely thinks about it for a while. 

“One scoop of strawberry and one scoop of vanilla, please.” Louis asks nicely. Barbara sets to work with the ice cream and comes back with two cones. She hands Louis his two scoops and hands Harry a waffle cone with vanilla ice cream.

“I can't believe you like it vanilla. How boring.” Louis says to Harry before lapping up his melting ice cream.

Harry chokes on his ice cream and has to beat his chest for a bit. He looks at Louis with wide eyes. Louis doesn't know what he has said wrong, so he just continues.

“I mean, vanilla is fine and all. But you have to throw in other things to make it interesting. Things that you really like and really make you happy.” Louis states. Harry just pinches his nose and groans.

“You don't know what you do to me.” Harry mumbles to himself.

They eventually finish their dessert and say farewell to Barbara. Harry takes a tired Louis back to his flat. He helps Louis out of the car and leads him up to his front door. The date was beautifully cliche and this moment on the doorstep would only be the icing on the cake. Louis is anticipating anything and keeps flitting is eyes to Harry's lips.

Harry starts to lean closer to Louis and make Louis' breath hitch. Louis closes his eyes and leans forward, only to feel a cold object against his chest.

“Put your name in my phone, I want to be able to contact you.” Harry says with his iPhone pressed against Louis' chest. Louis is awful at hiding his disappointment and sullenly puts in his number and texts himself. He was hoping for a good-night kiss. Maybe they'll get there.

“Thanks, babe. It was a great night. Maybe we could do this again.” Harry suggests while stuffing his hands into his pockets. He starts to walk away, leaving a very crestfallen Louis by the door.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot something.” Harry says. He turns around and plants a kiss right on Louis' cheek. He winks at Louis and walks away.

Louis is never washing that side of his face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them!


	6. Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mom thinks that I'm doing homework when I'm typing this. It's great.

Louis was in a bit of a daze. 

His date with Harry was a dream, he still had problems believing that the night even happened. The only evidence from the night would be the roses sitting in the kitchen and the new number saved into his phone. Luckily, yesterday was a Friday, so Louis doesn't have to worry about going to work. He loves hanging out with Niall, but he needs his quiet time. There is no quiet time with Niall in vicinity.

Stan has also been acting pretty strange lately. Ever since that creeper stayed over, Stan has been a bit distant. He doesn't cuddle Louis on the couch anymore and their banter is stilted and forced. Louis wants to ask what is wrong, but he knows that Stan will get even more awkward if Louis mentions feelings. He always gets uncomfortable when Louis mentions his lack of love life or about any crushes he could have. Louis just wants his friend back.

Louis plans on sleeping his Saturday away. He knows that there are some leftovers in the fridge and Stan mentioned a trip with the other psychiatrists at the hospital. So Louis has the whole flat to himself. He is about to lie back down in his bed when he hears a buzz from beside him. He is surprised to find a text from an old friend.

“In town. Join me for some burgers n' maybe we can veg.” the text reads.

Louis has to smile at this. They hadn't hung out in a while and he had to reconnect. Louis texts back an affirmative and they decide to meet up at the burger joint around 3 pm. It's already 2 pm, so Louis begrudgingly gets up and prepares his face for the world. He slips on a red jumper that is way too big with some Adidas's pants and some old sneakers. It's not his best look, but he can trust an old friend not to judge. 

Louis walks out of his flat with a pep in his step. This is possibly the best weekend ever. First he gets a hot date, then one of his old best friends wants to meet up. All he has to do now is enjoy some burgers and it's complete. If he's skipping on his way to the diner, then no one says anything. He soon sees the diner two buildings away and smiles. He's almost there. 

Suddenly, his world goes black. Well,not entirely. Just his sight. There is something blocking his sight, no. There is someone blocking his sight with their hand. It's like Louis just walked into a movie, he has been reading tumblr posts on self-defense for years only to lead up to this moment. He quickly realizes the assailant is a male due to the muscular chest pushed against his back. He knows what to do, he just has to wait for the right moment. The man leans into his ear really close. 

“I've got you now, cutie.” the man says in a deep, gravelly voice. The man starts to bring his hand toward Louis' bum, Louis decides to defend himself.

Louis' first instinct is to start screaming. The man immediately tries to cover Louis' mouth, but Louis is quicker having planned this. He pinches the arm wrapped around his shoulders right above the bicep and swings his leg back to land right in the man's groin. Louis still screams when the man falls to the ground in pain and Louis kicks him in the stomach for good measure. The man falls unconscious when one of Louis' kicks land straight toward his head. Louis is still screaming.

“Louis!” a voice calls that Louis can't hear over his own screaming.

“Louis!!” the voice repeats, a little louder. Still overridden by Louis' constant screaming.

“LOUIS!” the voice practically screams. This finally grabs Louis' attention and he stops screaming. He looks up and sees his friend standing there with an amused look on his face.

“Zayn!” Louis yelled before jumping into his arms. Louis nuzzled his face into Zayn's neck and smelled the expensive cologne. Zayn just laughed at Louis' antics and wrapped his arms around Louis' waist. 

The two had genuinely missed each other, and were so distracted by the other that neither one of them noticed the small crows gathering around them. The people were mystified by the scene in front of them, a man is lying unconscious on the ground and a man is carrying another in a joyful hug. It is a curious-looking scene. 

It's not until a baby in the murmuring group of people starts crying that Louis' attention is brought back to the man who grabbed him. He gave the man a dirty look before turning back to Zayn and seeing Zayn's face. Man has he changed, but Zayn is probably thinking the same thing.

Zayn really grew into his model status, his face like that of an angel. His brown eyes still look the same, framed by his eyelashes. Though, his eyelashes were long enough to cast shadows on his sharp cheekbones. His really sharp cheekbones. He also seemed to dabble into tattooing much like Louis, his full-sleeve emphasized by his rolled-up-at-the-elbow leather jacket. His shirt a shining white, only emphasizing the angel idea, with black jeans and ripped combat boots. He really looks like he just rolled out of a GQ magazine. Plus, Louis has a feeling that he didn't even try to look like it. Even his hair is perfect. It's pushed back, but stray hairs still make it to his forehead. Though to Louis' credit, Zayn is staring at Louis with just as much wonder.

“Causing trouble, boo?” Zayn asks Louis in a teasing tone with his arms still on Louis' waist while setting him on the ground. Louis pouts at this, the comment and the regained contact with earth.

“He attacked me I will have you know.”Louis tells with his arms crossed against his chest. Zayn just smiles at Louis, but also looks at the man with confusion. 

“Let's just go in and eat.” Zayn says leading Louis to the restaurant, still staring at the man on the ground with confusion.

It's not until they are sitting in their booth with full stomachs and laughter in the air that Zayn brings up what transpired outside. “Did you know that man, Louis?” Zayn questioned in a casual tone while picking up his beer.

“Why is everybody asking me that? No I did not know that man. Don't think I would want to.” Louis tells Zayn while rolling his eyes and then taking a swig of Zayn's beer despite his squawk of protest. Zayn lets it go from there and they continue to talk about very important topics.

“I'm telling you Lou, 4 inches determines whether it is a pot or pan.” Zayn says. They were joking before but their argument from years before always turns unreasonably heated.

“I still say anything is a pan unless specified otherwise. No measurements, just the way it cooks. Consider me pan-sexual.” Louis says. 

“You know that's not what that means and I do not want to hear about how something cooks from you. Or should I bring up the incident of 2007?” Zayn threatened. Louis just slumped in his seat and sulkily sipped more beer. They sit like that for a while. Then, Louis remembers what he really wanted to ask Zayn.

“Hey Zaynie?” Louis says, gaining his attention.

“Yeh, Loueh?” Zayn replies.

“Why did you leave? Why did you go all the way to Los Angeles?” Louis asked, picking at the lint on his joggers. The mood surrounding them completely changes. Zayn is no longer smiling so brightly at Louis. He looks down, as if disappointed in himself. Louis regrets asking almost immediately and realizes that he pushed his boundaries. Zayn never told him, and it was probably for a good reason.

Louis starts to speak, “I'm so-”.

“I was scared.” Zayn says, looking down at his lap. He made the statement like a confession, as it probably was. Louis waited for him to continue. “I ran away from people that I know and love because I was too afraid. For my safety, for my family's safety, even for your safety, Lou.” Zayn said looking up at Louis.

Now, Louis knew that Zayn wasn't hanging out with the best of crowds before he absconded to America. He once knocked on Louis' door during a rainstorm, only for Louis to find him drenched and crying while holding a wound on his abdomen. Louis didn't ask questions. He just took care of Zayn and filled in the perfect role of best friend. Louis wanted to question Zayn's friends, but Zayn never let them meet. So Louis gave him his space on that issue. 

When Zayn did leave for America, he let Louis know the night of.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

“Hello?” Louis asked, holding the phone to his ear while staring at the tele. Crap telly is so bad, but so good. 

“Hey, boo. D'ya think you can do me a favor?” Zayn asks, his tone almost pleading. This makes Louis sit up from his seat on the couch.

“What do you need, Zaynie?” Louis asks.

“I need a ride to the airport.” Zayn whispers.

“Oh, um. Sure. I can go pick you up.” Louis says, a little miffed.

“Thanks, babe.” Zayn says before hanging up.

Louis is confused, but a friend indeed is a friend in need. He drives straight over to Zayn's dingy flat that he barely ever lives in. He has a habit of staying over at others' houses. It wouldn't be so bad if all of the people he would temporarily roomed with were good influences. He pulls up and text Zayn that he is outside. Zayn soon walks out with a duffle bag over his shoulder and sunglasses on his face despite the late hour. He constantly looks around him as if someone is watching him, then makes it to Louis' car. He quickly gets into the passenger's side and throws his bag behind him. Louis starts driving to the airport. It's not until 10 minutes in that Louis realizes he doesn't know why Zayn is going to the airport. 

“Where are you goin', Zaynie?” Louis timidly asks. Zayn laughs out loud at this.

“I never told you, did I? I'm skipping across the pond, Lou.” he says, fiddling with the radio. He eventually finds a good R&B station and relaxes back in his chair. 

“Why're you going all the way to America?” Louis asks incredulously. Zayn just looks out the window, and if he cries then Louis doesn't say a word.

They eventually get to Zayn's terminal and they have to say their good-byes. 

“How long are you going to be gone? Do you have a place to stay? You better call me as soon as you get back here. Don't talk to strangers.” Louis says, going into his last minute mother-mode. Zayn starts laughing again. 

“A few months probably. I have a friend over in L.A. Of course. And I'll be aware of the big bad wolf.” Zayn jokes, not acknowledging how both of them have tears in their eyes. They haven't separated since they met in day care. Now there will be an entire ocean separating them. 

They eventually break apart and pretend that they won't miss each other. And with that, Zayn is gone. Not even one week later, Louis goes on his massive road trip across Europe for four months and then spends time with his mum for a few years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Louis, thinking back on it, doesn't understand why Zayn was scared for Louis' safety. He never let Louis join him with the bad crowds. He even made a personal curfew just for Louis, where he would call Louis every night to make sure that he was at home. Thus is makes no sense that Louis would be in any danger. Due to Zayn's sour mood, Louis decides not to dwell on it.

“Well now that you are here. How's about a classic Lou-Zaynie hangout.” Louis suggests, getting up from their table. 

Zayn immediately brightens at this and throws a few bills down at their table. Louis sees this and figures that he should probably pay for the arcade if Zayn paid for dinner. 

They make it to the arcade, Zayn pays despite Louis' protests, and get right into the swing of things. They are making rounds of the whole place and easily break records on all the games, to the disappointment of the little punks around them. It really brings back memories of being kicked out for ruining the other kids' fun and receiving too many complaints. They really enjoy themselves for a while and then head over to a pub near Louis' place.

After they get their drinks, they sit at the bar and try to talk to the tired bartender, who seems grateful for the distraction from work. Zayn has his side against Louis' while he stands and Louis sits. That's why Louis instantly feels it when Zayn tenses up. Louis looks up and sees that Zayn is staring at something across the room. Louis looks in the direction of Zayn's sight and sees a large, muscular man. A man who is walking toward them.

Zayn is tense as raw meat in front of a wild dog. However, just looking at his poker face no but Louis would be able to tell. 

“Zayn. You are here.” the man says, his formal tone out-of-place.

“Not for long.” Zayn says to him. “Let's go, Lou. Do you mind if I stay at yours tonight?” Zayn asks him, his tone almost seductive.

Louis confusedly nods and is then led out of the building. Zayn's demeanor changes as soon as they leave the building. “Sorry 'bout that. Just wanted that guy to leave me alone. Thought he can think you're my boyfriend or somewhat.” he quickly explains to Louis.

This makes sense to Louis. They make small talk over the funny bartender while they walk, then they make it to the flat. They decide to just share Louis' double bed, as they both want to spend time together after the long separation.

It was a great/weird/fun day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them!


	7. Figuring Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer to put up than it should have. a.k.a. AP classes suck.

Louis' remaining weekend is calm, to say the least. He spends the majority of the time either sleeping or playing some of the apps on his phone. It is a nice break from life in general. His mind is set to blank. The weather is not warm enough out for him to go outside, everything is just a fuzzy happy feeling.

When Louis gets back to work, he doesn't know how much he is not mentally ready. There is complete chaos in the usually silent bakery. There are men in suits standing in front of Liam, who is frantically pacing, with their hands behind their backs in a very professional manner. Ed is typing furiously on a computer while Niall sits next to him and fiddles with his phone. Harry is no where to be found.

Niall eventually looks up to see Louis awkwardly standing in the doorway. He stands up out of his seat and Louis can't brace himself in time for, “My baby!” he shouts while running toward him. He wraps Louis tightly in his arms and rocks them back and forth. 

“Oh, how I've missed my little Lou. It gets so boring around here.” Niall complains into Louis' ear.

“I've been gone for two days Nialler.” he mumbles, but doesn't attempt to leave the faux-blonde's embrace. 

Despite the constant texting between the two of them, Niall always gets excited to see Louis as if it has been years since they've last met. Louis can't deny that he also misses the loud Irishman when they're separated, but he won't be admitting that anytime soon. 

“He just let him go?! He is fired!”, their hug is interrupted by Liam shouting at the poor men in suits.

A thought crosses Louis' mind, the guys around here seem to lose their temper really easily. Except the knowing look from Niall shows that his thought wasn't entirely in his head. Niall just pulls Louis back in with an arm around his shoulders as they watched the scene before them. 

“Only for the ones they love.” Niall says, quiet enough for only Louis to hear, causing him to blush.

Niall brings Louis over toward the same table as Ed while Liam is hurriedly giving the men instructions. When Louis sits down, he is able to glance at Ed's computer screen. It only succeeds in giving him a headache as long lines of code are filling the dark screen. He sits between Niall and Ed, due to Niall's manhandling. 

“Now, go. Don't come back to me until you have him.” Liam commanded the men before they rushed out of the building.

Niall and Louis watch Liam rush through the door to the kitchen and hear the slam of the door leading to the basement. Louis turns to Niall, “Who are they looking for?” he asks.

Niall sighs and sits back at this. “An old 'colleague' of ours, one would say. He was part of our gang for a long time, even helped us to gain the numbers and connections that we have. He even was the one to bring Ed into our crew, Harry not being the friendliest of people. But he doesn't associate with us anymore. Left for a different life away from us 'bout three years ago.” Niall explains with dejection.

“Why did he leave?” Louis prompts for Niall to continue.

“Couple of things happened to him while he was on an assignment. Long story short, he got hurt. He got angry at his partner for not protecting him. He barely said a word before disappearing off the face of the Earth. We tried to find him, asked the people who he was usually seen with. They all mentioned some friend of his that helped him escape, but no one had met the kid. We eventually had to move on and forget about 'im. Until now I guess.” Niall tells Louis, looking down.

“Who was his protector?” Louis asks, rubbing Niall's shoulder. Niall looks up at Louis.

“Liam.” he says, “More than a protector, I would say they were gonna spend their lives together. The whole shebang. Liam was even getting ready to propose and would stress out about it to us nearly every night. They were the 'it' couple. So Liam was pretty wrecked when he found out about his leave, he was the last one to hear about it, too. Liam went off and came back ten times quieter.” Niall finishes sitting back.

Niall doesn't even notice Louis, who's mind is racing a mile a minute. Gang? Assignment? Protector? All of these questions are running through his head as he frantically looks around. Ed is still doing some type of suspicious-looking programming and Niall is still looking down at the ground, his hand on the back of Louis' chair in a protective manner.

Suddenly, it clicks. The gun, the men in suits, the inability to go down into the basement, something suspicious is going on here and Louis needs to find out soon. He isn't worried about his safety, he knows that Niall is taking care of him in the least subtle ways possible. 

Then another things dawns on Louis. Ever since that day he first met Harry, Niall has been suspiciously friendly and protective. I mean, his actions would make sense if the two had been friends for a long time, but they have barely known each other for under a month. His constant texting, always hugging Louis close, always wanting to know where Louis had last gone.

“I need to go home. I don't feel well.”Louis announces standing up. His head is starting to hurt, he needs time to think everything over.

“Are you sure? Are you okay? Do you need anything? You've only been here for half an hour.” Niall interrogates Louis while standing up with him and holding his back and shoulder. The conversation also makes Ed stop his typing to stare at Louis.

Both of the men are giving Louis concerned looks. Louis just needs to leave this building and take a walk, or go lie in bed. His brain is throbbing with all of the new information. 

“I'll come back to work tomorrow, sorry.” he tells Niall quickly. He then rushes out of the bakery, leaving Ed and Niall alone. 

“You do realize you just told him everything Harry told you not to.” Ed says, continuing what he was doing before the interruption. Niall stared at him in confusion for a bit, before it dawned on him.

“Oh, shit!” he curses, wanting to run after Louis.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Louis lies back in his bed, the weather too cold outside for him to willingly take a walk. He weighs the known information in his head and tries to fill the holes that have been left by unanswered questions from Niall.

Where is Harry?

He's probably doing work, as he seems to be in charge of the whole thing.

What's downstairs?

Probably all of the stuff about their lives they wouldn't want Louis to see.

Where does Harry get all of this money?

Profits from this thing most likely.

Why does no one else work here?

Everybody in the world but Louis probably knows that this place is sketchy.

All of the things he would wonder to Niall, usually brushed aside by him, now make sense. What doesn't make sense though, is why they would hide it. Maybe they really needed someone to work at that counter in the bakery so if the police come, they'll see little innocent Louis and leave. Perhaps Louis is some type of bait in their big scheme and doesn't know it. 

Niall wouldn't do that to him, though. Would he? He and Louis text all of the time, they even have emoji's for each other. Plus, that date with Harry couldn't have been just a rouse. It all seemed so real, Harry even introduced him to Barbara.

With all this thinking, Louis realizes that he has to do one thing. He needs to march in there tomorrow and get some answers. He can even threaten to quit if they aren't, even though it's a bit of an empty threat since it's the one job that Louis has actually enjoyed. Maybe because it's not completely an actual job, it was a little weird that all he's been doing at this “job” is chat with Niall and eat sweets. 

Louis has to go in tomorrow and get the answers he needs.

“Louis?” Stan calls from the kitchen. Louis is miffed by the sudden call and hurriedly rushes down to the kitchen. Stan still hasn't spoken to him since the creepy man was over. 

Louis walks into the kitchen, hit by the smell of delicious take-out. Stan still has his work clothes on, but he doesn't look as tired as he normally does. It must have been a good day.

Stan just fills up a plate and goes to sit in front of the tele, the invitation for Louis to join him is in the air. Louis bites the bullet and fills up his own plate before joining Stan on the couch. They haven't been in the same room for this long in a long time. Louis timidly looks up at Stan, who's attention is solely on the home-improvement show he flipped to. 

They don't talk the whole evening, but to Louis, it's a start back into the right direction. They both make their way back to their respective rooms after briefly cleaning up. The tension in the air is too thick for Louis to breathe, but he makes his way to his room. He calls his mum, as per usual.

“So...did you see Harry today?” Jay asked excitedly. Obviously Louis told her all about their date when he spoke to her on the phone.

“I didn't. I think I'll see him tomorrow, though. I'll let you know.” Louis tells her before they bid each other good-night and hung up.

Louis then heads into his en-suite to get ready for bed, but he stops in front of the mirror. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he begins to question. Is he gang material? Does he look like the type of guy to be in a gang? He's got the tattoos, but none of them are serious enough to get him the aesthetic. His stature is too short, his body too curvy rather than muscular, In ll honesty, he looks like he could be one of the wives. 

This pulls Louis into a train of thought about being Harry's little wife. Louis does not get enough sleep that night.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Louis wakes up that morning with renewed vigor. He was going to get his answers today. He was going to understand what the boys all do. And he was going to talk to Harry and maybe put on his best flirting face. The last one was a little bit of a hopeful one as there is never any guarantee that he will be there.

Louis splashes water on his face and looks at his reflection with determination. He throws some tight jeans on with white Adidas and a green Adidas hoodie. He was trying his best to look casual and as if he is totally comfortable with everything around him. Yeah, totally comfortable.

Louis marches downstairs and grabs an apple before roughly taking a bite out of it and grabbing a water bottle. He finishes the apple and downs the water bottle. He throws both items into the trash and pumps himself up. Through all of his efforts to pump himself and do everything quickly, he completely forgets that Stan is usually up by now on Tuesday's as well. 

Stan clears his throat to gain the attention of Louis, who is doing some type of deep-breathing exercise while lifting his arms. He almost snaps his neck with the speed he turns his head to look at Stan. Stan is just standing, his mouth agape and eyes wary at the scene that Louis is putting on. 

“Umm...good morning?” Stan says, still staring at Louis who has significantly calmed down. Louis is now blushing and staring at the floor. 

Louis then remembers the task at hand, get to the bakery. He gives a quick nod to Stan before sprinting up the stairs to brush his teeth. Even if he is in a hurry, dental hygiene is important.

Louis brushes his teeth and grabs his phone and the key to their flat. He almost runs into Stan as he bolts out the door and makes his way quickly toward the bakery. Louis is going so fast that he is almost thirty minutes earlier than usual. Louis quickly shoulders his way into the building anyway and finds that the lights are turned off. 

Louis looks around the dark bakery, trying to find a way to turn on the lights. He walks through the door into the kitchen and finds something he doesn't expect.

“Harry?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, the next chapter will be soon.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them!


	8. Answer Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are AP exams really that important? I mean, I don't think I have to study THIS much.

Louis stares, dumbfounded, at Harry Styles. Harry Styles is baking. Harry Styles is humming, and baking. Harry Styles, supposed bad ass, is baking. Louis is only able to stare at the wonder standing in front of him.

His hair is pulled back into a bun and he is donning a beautiful pink apron. The apron has red and white hearts all over it, Louis can't decipher whether he chose it or it was a gag gift. Harry is too busy rolling dough into spheres that he has not even heard Louis. His mind set on the cookie dough in front of him. Louis spends more time just staring as Harry slightly hums while he works on what appear to be sugar cookies. 

The scents flowing through the room are marvelous and Louis thinks that he should never leave. The warm lighting and pretty boy are pulling Louis in to just stay. But he realizes that he should escape before Harry finds out that he is caught. 

Louis then tries to slowly back out of the situation, but, in turn, runs into a pan sitting on the counter, resulting in a loud clatter. Harry screams in shock at this and the ball of dough, in his hand, flies straight into his hair. Harry looks at Louis with wide eyes, before immediately looking back down, showing Louis a rare glimpse of insecurity. 

Louis has barely enough time to act embarrassed from being caught before he is giggling. Harry looks up from the floor to Louis with a sad look on his face. His lip pouting out and his eyes looking glossy. Louis only starts to laugh harder as the dough is now illuminated from the lighting in Harry's hair. 

Harry regains his confidence quickly and crosses his arms over his chest, bemusedly waiting for Louis to finish. It takes a good while, as once Louis starts calming down, he just looks at Harry again and keeps laughing. 

“Have you quite finished?” Harry asks once Louis is now reduced to lying on the ground, holding a hand out for Louis to grab. 

Louis looks up at him from his position below, and can't help but allude Harry to a god from the light behind his head illuminating everything about him. Louis shakes out of his stupor and takes Harry's hand.

“Sorry 'bout that.” Louis mumbles once he's up, trying to take some of the dough out of Harry's locks. Harry just laughs at him and helps him remove the sticky substance.

“Wouldn't be the first time to try and get sticky stuff out of my hair.” Harry says with a wink.

Louis can't help the pang of jealousy that goes through him. He just awkwardly laughs along with Harry, ignoring the look he gives him. They eventually get all of the dough out of his hair and Louis no longer has an excuse to stand so close to Harry.

Louis is in the middle of dejectedly taking a step back when Harry grabs him and pulls him back in. Louis melts straight into the hug, his legs becoming useless. He wraps his arms around Harry's neck and pulls himself up so that they're faces are a little closer. Damn tall people.

“I missed you.” Harry says in Louis' ear, almost as if telling him a secret.

“I missed you more, mystery baker.” Louis confesses back in Harry's ear. Louis can feel Harry's smile broaden as he hears the name.

They both enjoy the moment, Louis' mind finally calming down after all of the stress he's been giving himself. But the moment doesn't last as the motivation for coming early comes back to Louis. He has to ask Harry, he knows that Harry will give him the truth. Louis reluctantly pulls out of their embrace and Harry heads back to make a new batch of dough. 

“Harry?” Louis asks timidly.

Harry looks up at Louis while beating two eggs, he is giving Louis all of his attention despite the task at hand.

“I just wanted to know...”, Louis continues, “Why you kept the gang a secret from me.”

Harry abruptly stops his movements and stares at Louis. His face has no emotion, no anger, no sadness, no frustration. Then, he just lets out a big sigh, as if not everything is going to plan. He looks back to Louis.

“I guess Niall could only keep his mouth shut for so long.” Harry admits, his tone only showing that he knew this would happen eventually. “I just wanted to protect you.” Harry says.

This only angers Louis. All anybody has been talking about is protecting him, as if he can't protect himself.

“ I can protect himself, I will have you know. Just the other day some guy came up to me and attacked me. He got what's coming to him.” Louis confidently tells Harry.

All of a sudden, Harry is all up in Louis' business. He doesn't look too happy.

“Who touched you?” he asked, much calmer than the last time he asked this.

“I-I don't know. I've never seen him before in my life.” Louis stutters out, more nervous that Harry is so close to him again without warning.

Harry just pinches the bridge of his nose and seems to mumble out something with “goddamn” and “Grimshaw” in there. He sits back on the counter, still pinching the bridge of his nose. He eventually lets go and looks back up to Louis.

“Well, I'm assuming you have a plethora of questions. Ask away.” Harry says, leaning back on his hands.

“Where did you get that apron?” Louis asks immediately.

Harry laughs out loud at this, the apron moving with it.

“Niall did back when we were in secondary school. I always wanted to be a baker, ever since Barbara let me experiment in the kitchens when there weren't many costumers, but Niall told me that I am required to wear it every time I bake. I think he was aiming to humiliate me, but it all came back to bite him when I came out to them that I'm gay. He thought for a while that the apron is what made me gay, swore by it he did.” Harry says.

“Who's Barbara?” Louis asks.

“Used to work for her. She took me into her ice cream parlor after my mom dragged me in there hoping to find me a job. She wanted me out of the alleys so I would stop causing trouble, guess that came back to bite her too. Ever since, she's been a role model in my life. She made me promise her that I should bring all of my loved ones to meet her.” Harry says as Louis blushes at the last part.

“What...what are you guys?” Louis asks, a little mystified.

“We are what one would call a gang. Liam calls us a league, Ed calls us an HQ, Niall calls us just a chill group of guys. We run our network throughout the country and you are looking at the head of the whole business.” Harry says proudly. “The outsiders have coined us the name of Repto's Repto. Or RR, for short. You probably haven't recognized our members since you don't seem to know about us. Like, at all. Anyways, you can identify any member of our units with the initials, R.R. on the back of their necks. We only have about two towns in all of England that we don't have subordinates in. Plus, thanks to Niall, we got a full takeover in Ireland.” he continues, almost too anxious to brag to Louis about their accomplishments.

“What do you guys do exactly?” Louis asks.

“We are a group of robin hoods essentially. We murder the serial murderers, we steal from the unworthy, and we take care of the guilty. We never endanger anyone intentionally without reason. The only real fighting and danger comes in with rivals who think that they will take us over and gain all of our territory and underlings. They always seem to doubt our people's loyalty.” Harry says. 

“So, if you're head honcho, what are the other guys?” Louis urges Harry on.

“Well there's only five of us that work in HQ, used to be six. But there's me, Niall, Ed, Liam, and a friend of ours, Lou. You probably won't meet her anytime soon. Lou is the informant, she knows where people are and how to attack weaknesses. She has left this lifestyle for quite some time, she even became a stylist, but she still likes us enough to work with us when we need her. Then there's Ed, he is our techy-guy. He knows how to get contacts, secret files, how to corrupt programs. Essentially anything on a computer that needs done, he can do it. Then Liam, the muscles, as he was unwillingly dubbed. He essentially overlooks all and any mission or assignment given out and makes sure that everything is properly executed. He's more fatherly about than he likes to admit. Everything has to be perfect. Then, good old Nialler. We don't know what to call him. He's more of a connecting piece than anything. He knows a guy who knows a guy, he always knows someone. We don't know how, but he could probably list off his friends and beat the population number in Britain. He is really good for convincing new members or getting us the things we need. Everyone seems to love the Irishman.” Harry finishes.

Louis just sits there for a while and processes everything. Harry seemed almost too good at explaining everything, but it helps Louis figure everything out. 

“I'll give you time to process everything, babe. Niall will be here soon.” Harry says, leaving Louis with a chocolate muffin.

Louis thoughtfully munches on the muffin, the taste too good to be true. His mind is slowly connecting the dots. That whole awkward reaction with the two rapists' corpses makes sense now. Louis still doesn't think that they should have all so eagerly protected him from the truth, though. Louis will have to ask Niall what Harry's deal is then, and also hope Harry comes back at some point so that they could discuss a second date.

Louis finishes his muffin and leaves all of the crumbs and mess in the kitchen. He makes his way out into the eating area just in time to see Niall coming through the door. Niall is wearing glasses over his eyes, which seem oddly red and puffy. His sweatshirt and jeans combo seem very uncharacteristic, it makes Louis almost worry. Almost. Because then Niall looks over and sees Louis standing there. His eyes tear up and suddenly he's running at Louis.

“My Loueh!!!!” Niall cries out as he crushes Louis into his arms. 

Louis just kind of lets his face be smushed and tries his best to breathe.

“Oh! I thought you were never coming back! I was so scared that my baby had left me!” Niall cries out against Louis' hair, sounding like a mother who had almost lost her son.

Louis giggles at his over-reaction and doesn't try to escape the embrace. He didn't realize that Niall cared about him so deeply, maybe it was all of those burnt pieces of toast Louis would make for him. 

Niall eventually peels away from Louis, only to hold his face in his hands and look at him with so much endearment. Louis looks around as confusedly as a smushed face can, and stares back at Niall. Niall still looks teary-eyed, but the entire atmosphere around him has brightened unbelievably. One wouldn't think that it is as early in the morning as it is.

“Missed you too, Nialler” Louis mumbles out of his half-closed mouth.

Niall laughs at this. The boys enjoy the moment and then set back into their rhythm. Niall starts to clean up some of the furniture in the room, Louis sits on a bar stool and makes him laugh, and all of life is good. It's not until Niall is cleaning under a table that Louis remembers that he still has a few questions. 

“Oh yeah, I have more questions about your gang.” Louis mentions.

The only response is a resounding “Fuck!” as Niall smacks his skull against the underside of the table. Louis can only giggle at the bewildered Niall who pops out of the tops of the tables like a meerkat in the wild.

“Harry already told me most of it. I just wanna ask you a few things to clear some stuff up.” Louis assures him.

Niall looks a little more relieved after hearing that Harry has done some of the explaining. He stands up to his full height and starts wiping his hands with the rag.

“Go for it, hit me with your best shot.” Niall says to Louis, walking over toward him.

“Why are you friends with me?” Louis asks, his tone a smidgen desperate. 

The look Niall gives him says enough about his opinion on this question. He walks closer to Louis and sits down next to him, so that they see eye-to-eye.

“Because I want to be. You are hilarious and wonderful.” Niall tells him, as if it's the most obvious point in the world.

Louis rolls his eyes at the sentiments and looks back at Niall, who has put his hand on Louis' shoulder.

“I mean, why did you start being friends with me? You didn't know what I was like from just a look. And don't be lying to me.” Louis says with a pointed finger.

“Oh...hm. Well...so you see...” Niall delayed awkwardly.

“Get to the point!” Louis interrupted.

“Harry wanted me to. He said that there should be someone around you to keep you around...” Niall says drifting off at the end.

Louis tilts his head slightly at this, like a confused puppy. Did Harry really think that he would leave that easily? It also brings to mind the fact that Harry really wanted Louis to stay. Louis is blushing in his seat by the time that the thought rears around. He doesn't even notice that Niall has been staring at him, as if waiting for a negative response. Louis notices and gives him a big grin.

“So you're kinda my bodyguard, huh?” Louis says.

Niall smiles back and nods his head rapidly like a loyal pet. They hugged again and Louis decides that today was enough question and answers.

The boys relax and each take a jab at each others athletic attire. They both dressed in hoodies and sweats as if they are both training for a marathon. The subject of football comes up eventually and Niall is hit with a great idea.

“Let's go to the park for a kick-around, yeah?” he suggests, with so much enthusiasm that Louis can't say no.

That's how they find themselves kicking a football between one another at a park near the bakery. They are able to entertain themselves and each other for a while by giving ridiculous commentary on the dumbest shots the other would make.

“-And Horan rounds around the corner, he swings back for the shot...and he misses!! Guess that's another cup to go to Brazil.” Louis yells in a deep bravado.

Niall starts laughing and ends up on the ground. He isn't able to get up and catch the ball before quickly heads toward a small child.

“Ow!” is all the boys hear before crying starts.

Louis' instincts kick in and he rushes to the crying kid. The boy only looks about four years old, barely old enough to write his own name. He is sitting on the ground and holding his leg with tears streaming down his face. Upon further inspection, the boy doesn't appear to have any serious injuries, he is just upset from the sudden hit. Louis has dealt with this before.

“Hey, little buddy. Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to use you as rebound.” Louis says, sitting cross-legged in front of the boy.

The boy stops his crying to look at the man in front of him, he looks suspiciously at Louis.

“I mean, you could probably do that when you're older, though. You could turn it into a whole profession. You could be- sorry what's your name?” Louis asks.

“Max.” the boy rushes out.

“You could be Max the Rebounder! We could probably bounce anything off of you. Footballs, basketballs, cars, tanks..” Louis lists off, receiving giggles from the little boy.

“You can't bounce a tank!” the boy says, his tearful face now filled with a toothy smile.

“I beg to differ. Just the other day I threw a tank at my friend over there and it bounced right back into my arms.” Louis says, motioning the catching of the tank with his arms.

The little boy erupts into more giggles and gives Louis his contagious laughter. 

“Well, Max, I'm Louis, a secret spy.” Louis tells him with this hand out.

“You can't be a secret sp-” the boy starts before being interrupted by Louis' hand to his mouth.

“I won't be anymore if you say it out loud.” Louis tells him, dramatically looking around.

The boy giggles more and spits a little on Louis' hand. Louis helps him up and they talk for a while longer. The boy is having a good time with him, but Louis has to return him to a parental unit. He is about to ask him where his parents are when-

“Max!” they hear.

A bearded man is rushing toward them and suddenly he scoops up Max into his arms. 

“Oh, Max, I was so worried! What have I told you about wandering off! You wait until your- Oh! Hello.” he says, noticing Louis.

Louis sheepishly sticks out his hand, “I'm Louis. It seems Max here got a little lost, glad you could find him.” he says to him.

“James Corden” the man says, shaking Louis' hand while holding Max in the other arm.

“Well, it was lovely meeting you Max! But, I have to go now, duty calls.” Louis says, winking at Max.

Max nods his head frantically and the two share a moment while James looks confusedly between them. Louis makes his way back to the spot where Niall was only to find him not there. Louis is about to start panicking when he sees him sitting on a bench with his phone lit up in front of him, a few meters away.

“Why didn't you come with me?” Louis asks Niall, who looks up from his screen.

“Saw you walking to a kid and figured you would want to handle it on your own. Not the best with little people.” Niall defends, standing up from his spot. 

“We should probably head back before Harry gets too concerned.” Niall says, putting his arm around Louis' shoulders.

Louis looks up to the setting sun and enjoys the moment as it is. 

“Yeah”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to throw James in there, I like him. Plus, I hope this answers quite a few questions that any of you may have.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them!


	9. Change of Pace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter. Promise the next one will be longer

The walk back to the bakery almost goes without a hitch. Almost.

Louis and Niall are walking arm in arm down the street, the setting sun leaving barely enough light to see the ground in front of them. Louis is making fun of a girl he met last week and Niall is cackling next to him. All is well, until Louis hears a noise, a slight scuffling of feet and clinking of metals.

“What was that?” Louis asks, instincts on high.

Niall looks over to Louis, sticking his opposite hand to his ear in a comical way, relaxing Louis and bubbling a giggle out of his mouth. Both boys continue on, Louis assuming the noise was in his head. Then, they hear the sound of a gun reloading.

The way Niall immediately stops, pulls Louis closer, and pulls out a concealed gun is almost impressive. They hurry back into an empty alleyway and Louis is pushed between Niall's shoulder blades and the brick wall.

Time goes on forever, as the boys' senses are heightened in the eerily silent night. Niall is constantly peering out of the alley into the open before hurriedly hiding his head back into it. 

The whole situation is more frightening by the minute, as the source of fear is completely unknown. It could just be some neighborhood kids having some fun. Or there could be an old lady walking down the street with a bag of metal. Okay, now Louis is just thinking optimistically. A old lady wouldn't be reloading a gun.

They are in the alley for about five minutes, could be five seconds, as time stretches on through the stress. Louis starts to get antsy, his muscles cramping up a little from their locked positions. Niall hasn't said a word, his mouth pressed into a thin line in concentration. Louis is getting uncomfortable from the press of the rough brick rubbing against his soft cheek. Now is not the time for exfoliation. 

Niall notices Louis' impatient wiggling and grabs his hip with the hand not holding a revolver. Louis stills and presses into the hand, almost as if he's replying in apology. The way that the boys are presses together so tightly, Louis can feel the nod of Niall's head from the movement of his neck. Louis then puts all of his focus and concentration into staying completely still. 

Time passes a little longer, then Louis gets antsy again. His body is crumpled a little to be covered by Niall's body. Louis is ready to leave and walk away from the situation.

“I think it's clear-” Louis starts to say.

“BANG!!” the sound of gunshots ring out and Louis' whole body tenses up.

Niall sighs as if it's nothing, just another day at the office. He fires back, widening his stance and leaning back against Louis. Louis is now practically covered by Niall and making out with the wall.

The gravity of the situation suddenly falls onto Louis when one of the gunshots sounds too close to them, Niall's loud grunt confirming that it hit him. Louis just closes his eyes and tries his absolute best to calm his breathing. It is a little difficult to calm one's heart rate when the end is within reaching distance. 

Louis' focus begins to fade, the gunshots becoming louder and softer. The small amounts of light cast onto the brick wall begin to disappear. The world is leaving Louis' consciousness. 

The only thing bringing Louis back to the present is the press of Niall pushing him back every time Niall shoots. Every shot of the gun results in a deep grunt from Niall. Louis becomes so focused on his own breathing and ability to stay upright, he barely hears the shouting.

“Give us the boy, you Fenian!” a man is shouting, his voice wobbling from the gun's force.

“Didn't know we were in the 19th century ya cunt!” Niall is shouting back.

Louis doesn't even know how many guys are out there and what the likelihood of his survival is. There could just be one guy out there, there could be a whole army. Niall doesn't seem to panic, his back muscles aren't tense. The only movement from Niall is the heavy breathing, oh wait. That's Louis' heavy breathing. 

Louis' mind is racing, almost as if it is working extra hard to keep him alive. He can't focus on anything and reds are turning green and what's up could be down. His body feels empty and full, all of his limbs are pins and needles and he can't control any part of himself.

“Louis!” a shout can be heard, suspiciously Irish.

Louis doesn't even turn away from the wall, too focused on staying upright and safe.

“Goddamn it” is the last thing Louis hears before he feels as if he's jumped into the ocean.

His hyper-senses from shock cause him to scream at the sudden moisture. Despite his shock of the water, it seems to pull him out of his head and bring him back. He whips his head around with wide eyes. Niall is standing there, focused on Louis with an empty bottle of water in his hand.

“You okay?” Niall asks, running his hands over Louis' torso and legs to check for any wounds.

“We won?” Louis asks, ignoring his question.

This makes Niall stop and stare at Louis. He drops the bottle with the force of laughter that bubbles out of his lips. Louis stands there and looks at Niall, who is turning pink in the face with how hard he is laughing. Louis notices his bleeding arm and holds his hand out. 

Louis grabs Niall's arm where the wound is and squeezes hard. He tries to slow the blood flow, something that his mum taught him. Niall calms down a little and looks at Louis gratefully.

“Yeah, Lou. We won.” Niall manages out, wiping the corners of his eyes.

Louis lets out a sigh and turns to look out of the alleyway. Niall stops his head with a hand to his chin, “Best if you don't look out there. It ain't pretty. Let's hurry back, we might have enough time that Styles isn't too pissed.” Niall tells him. 

Louis keeps his eyes closed as they walk back, Niall leading him by the arm that Louis is gripping tightly.

Apparently they did not come back early enough for Harry not to get worried. Niall and Louis walk into the darkened bakery. Niall slowly takes Louis' grip from his arm. He leans over and turns on the lights, revealing a fuming Harry with his arms crossed over his chest. If looks could kill...

Niall scurries off into the kitchen, holding his arm, in order to avoid the inevitable scolding for staying out too late. It reminds Louis a bit too much of a little family, and the upset father scolding the children. However, now is not the time to imagine Harry as a father.

Harry stares at the retreating figure of Niall, obviously noticing his bullet wound. Louis slowly inches closer to Harry, who looks like he could burst any minute. Louis may have a way out of this lecture, but it will be a dangerous procedure. Louis decides to just go for it. 

“You should-” Harry is interrupted from his soon-to-be lecture by Louis wrapping his arms around his torso. 

Harry softens at the contact and instinctively wraps his arms around Louis with a deep sigh. Louis is going to be the death of him. With this action, Harry notices the wet patches that Louis' eyes are leaving on his shirt.

“Shhh, baby. It's alright, let it out. You're probably going through shock. It must have been pretty scary for you.” Harry explains to him, rubbing his hand up and down Louis' back.

Louis nods into his collar bone and presses in harder, knowing that Harry will keep him safe.

“I got really worried you know.” Harry says quietly so only Louis can hear. “Few of our guys have spotted Nick's people out tonight. He's planning something and my instincts were going haywire knowing that you two were out tonight.” he confesses.

“Good thing Niall was there, promise that nothing will happen to you.” Harry reassures Louis, who is starting to calm down a little bit.

Louis feels like an ultimate wreck, everything in the past hour has happened so quickly. One moment Louis and Niall are walking together, having the time of their lives. The next moment, Louis is praying to a god he doesn't believe in and feeling the flex of every muscle in Niall's back. The sight of Niall's blood dripping down his arm didn't help the whole situation, either. 

Louis just stays in Harry's arms for quite some time. His breathing slowing and he is slowly coming down from a quick succession of horrible events. Louis' mind is brought to the probably source of the mayhem, Nick.

“Who is he anyway?” Louis asks, the confidence in his question contrasted with the strength that he is cuddled into Harry. 

“He is a bad person. Kills because he can, wants money just to have it, doesn't even care about what happens to the people below him. He's been against us for a while, jealous of our strength one would say. He has bad intentions so we try to avoid confrontation with him as much as possible. I also refuse to believe that him staying over at your flat was just a coincidence.” Harry tells Louis.

This makes Louis perk up. There is new information on the creepy man, at least Louis wasn't just being paranoid. But, Stan said that he is his friend. Louis voices this concern to Harry. Harry sighs at this.

“Yeah, I'm a little suspicious of your roommate. He been acting weird lately?” Harry asks, pulling away from Louis a little to look him in the eyes.

“Actually, yeah. We don't talk as much as we used to, and he isn't home when he usually was. He is out way past the hours of the hospital. He mentioned that he has been taking extra hours, but I don't think he knows that I know he can't do that at a mental hospital. It's all really sketchy.” Louis explains to Harry, glad that he can talk to someone about his concerns with his friend.

“I don't trust him. He could have connections that you shouldn't be around and he could hurt you at any second. You should stay with me for a bit while we investigate what has been going on.” Harry suggests Louis, almost sounding rehearsed. 

Louis knows that he can't argue with Harry much on this, it is a dangerous game he would be playing. Plus, Harry has every reason to be concerned about Stan, despite how long Louis has known him. Louis still has a look of doubt on his face though.

“Louis staying with us?! Slumber party!!” Niall shouts, running out of the kitchen with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand and his arm wrapped up where the wound was.

Harry and Louis just look at Niall with fondness, and then it's settled. Louis will be staying with the boys. However this may turn out.

Niall grabs Louis and pulls him to the kitchen with a Harry following closely behind. Niall then pulls him to the mysterious door. Louis can finally see what is behind door #2. It's probably not going to be a prize.

Niall pulls the door open and reveals a set of spiral stairs leading down. Underwhelming is the only word for it.

Louis carefully walks down the stairs behind an excited Niall who is hopping down two at a time. Harry has his hand on the small of Louis' back and another on the railing. The spiral stairs go down and down, illuminated by small lights on the outside wall.

They eventually reach another door at the bottom of the stairs. This time, with an obvious lock on it. It all feels like a giant RPG that Louis is trying to find the treasure.

Louis doesn't realize that he accidentally voiced this opinion until the sound of Niall's laughter rings up the empty staircase. Harry just smiles down at the ground behind him and presses himself to Louis' back.

Niall pulls out a key from his pocket and unlocks the wooden door. Let's see what's behind door #3. Please don't be another staircase. 

Louis walks through the doorway to reveal a large garage space, filled with many sports cars. Damn.

The array of automobiles is truly admirable and Louis has to stop and appreciate the taste to whoever chose this selection. A 1970s Ford Capri, a Mercedes-Benz SL, a Porsche Carrera, a Porsche Boxster, an Aston Martin, a Range Rover, and much much more! Maybe this is one big episode of price is right.

Harry leans over to Louis' ear, “Pick anyone you want, babe.” he whispers into Louis' ear, pointing to where Niall is waiting in front of a wall of car keys.

Louis, of course, chooses the Aston Martin, and enjoys slowly getting into the passenger side of the beauty. Niall hops into the back and Harry slides into the driver seat.

Louis watches as Harry presses a button on the top of the car and one of the walls of the room starts to slide up into the ceiling and reveals a dark tunnel. Louis stares in wonder as Harry pulls toward the opening.

The headlights on the car illuminate the dark tunnel, Harry driving on a slight incline. Light suddenly filters into their vision as Harry nears the end. The tunnel opens to a road, blocked on the other side by signs. 

Harry presses another button and the signs briefly clear out of the way as Harry drives into the flow of traffic. 

“I thought that road was closed” Louis comments, staring out the window.

“Yeah, we closed it.” Niall replies from the back of the car.

The drive is brief yet beautiful, Louis hasn't been able to admire the rest of London as much due to his lack of car to do so. He stares out at the lights and watches as buildings become trees. The are leaving the downtown of London and enter an area that Louis didn't even know existed.

Harry pulls up to a gate, the path on the other side leading into deep woods. He lowers his window and looks into a camera.

“Welcome back, sir.” a voice says from the camera.

The gate opens and Harry pulls through. The woods only continue on further, almost as if they're leaving the region altogether. Harry soon pulls up to another gate, this time, with a keypad.

Harry quickly sticks his finger onto the top of the keypad.

“Welcome back, Mr. Styles.” a different voice says from the keypad.

The gate opens and Harry drives through once again while Louis rolls his eyes at the extravagance of it all. There is a point where it is too much, Harry drove across that line a while back. The trees are starting to lessen and the woods becoming less dense. Soon enough they reach the residence, Louis is left staring at the estate.

“Damn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like cars, and bad ass Niall. Bad ass Niall in cars. Yeah.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them!


	10. My Abode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend a lot of this fic describing the house. I personally enjoy visual help with these things, so here are some pictures.  
> Front of the mansion: http://data.whicdn.com/images/31019016/original.jpg (with a fountain in the center)  
> Entry Hall: http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/openhouse/luxury-homes/this-125-million-mclean-mansion-has-a-ballroom-and-an-indoor-basketball-court.php  
> The Game Room: http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2012/5/16/1/HMDRS203H_desert-mansion-game-room-6008_s4x3.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.960.jpeg  
> Family Room:  
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b3/87/d2/b387d236220bc9f353adb6a50ffd8f25.jpg  
> Harry's Bedroom:  
> http://popcrush.com/files/2012/04/bedroom2.jpg
> 
> You don't have to use them, but I think they help visually.

The manor is...resplendent. The grey bricked building stands tall behind a roundabout driveway. In the center of the roundabout, there is a fountain with flushing greenery and well-kept shrubbery all around. The fountain spurs clean water into the air from hidden jets, the water illuminated by outdoor lights places around the fountain rim. 

The concrete driveway is also surrounded by plenty of foliage that looks as if there is a person hired per bush just to keep everything perfectly in order. The mansion has a set of stone staircase with stark white railings contrasting to the rest of the brick.

Louis can only stare in awe as Harry pulls the car around the driveway and in front of the stairs leading up. Niall immediately hops out of the back and pulls Louis' door wide open. He offers his hand out in invitation with a wide grin on his face. Louis shyly takes his hand and climbs out of the vehicle. 

He then notices an older man standing straight at the top of the steps with a grey suit and white gloves. His one arm is behind his back and the other is sticking straight out in front of him. Niall gleefully leaps up the steps, pulling Louis behind him. Louis looks back and sees Harry speaking seriously with a different man in black coveralls.

“Hey, Harvey!” Niall yells excitedly at the man waiting in front of them.

“Good to see you, Mr. Horan.” the man says formally, Louis blatantly notices Niall's flinch at the name.

Niall takes off both Louis' and his own jacket, then hangs them over the man's extended arm. The man bows slightly and walks away with the clothing in hand. Louis doesn't have much time to mull over how out of place his frumpy jacket looks next to Niall's expensive one. Niall starts pulling him through the black, wooden double doors.

“Welcome to our humble abode.” Niall says with a sweep of arm.

“Yeah, real fucking humble.” Louis mumbles, looking around at the extravagant room in front of him. 

The pristine, white tile of the floor only adds to the cleanliness of the whole place. The white walls surround them in a semi-circle shape. In the middle of the room, a slightly curved grand staircase leads through the whole in the ceiling, decorated by molding containing gold accents. The top of the staircase can be seen slightly and are lit by the giant chandelier hanging above them. 

Many smaller hallways lead out of this room, revealing smaller pieces of artwork and various doors with labels, such as “Cook's room” or “Do not bother” on small hanging signs. Louis' attention is entirely upon the room, the whole room about the size of his whole apartment. Okay, maybe half of his apartment.

“Yeah, Harry told Gemma to go wild when planning this place. And she really went wild.” Niall says sheepishly, glancing around the room. 

Louis soon finishes his admiration and turns to Niall with a raised eyebrow. Niall grins back and leads him up the large stairs. 

After the long, treacherous journey of the staircase, they reach the top. At least, Louis hopes this is the top. Then, Niall immediately leads Louis to a door labeled, “GAMEZ”, wonder who made the signs.

The room is revealed to be plentiful. On the wall of the door they just opened, there is a flat screen with various game consoles and cabinets probably hiding all kinds of gaming pleasure. There is a comfy couch facing the television that Louis is half tempted to just snuffle his face into. On the wall to the left, there are many glass sliding doors opening to a balcony that would probably be lovely in the nearing summer. 

The opposite wall has various vintage arcade games and they lead toward a corner, where a pool tale sat. Next the the pool table, in the opposite corner, sat a corner bar. The cupboards behind the bar looked well stocked. 

“Who makes the drinks?” Louis asks, slowly walking into the room.

“Oh, that would be Jim. He handles all the drinks in the house, he covers the bar when we host. He is with some of his family for a few days, so I guess you will just have to make your own.” Niall explains, shrugging.

Louis nods at this, deciding that it's been a stressful enough day that he and Niall should share a drink. Louis makes his way toward the cupboards and opens them to find plenty of drinks and an impressive range of expensive wines.

“Harry keeps the good wine in the basement. Something about 'humidity' and 'taste', I just nod and stick to my pints.” Niall states, sitting on one of the chairs around the bar.

Louis does not want to bring attention to his wine-boner that the factoid just sprouted, so he sets into looking for the drinks he wants. In another cupboard, Louis manages to find fresh mint leaves and a muddler. He sets them on the counter with rum, sugar, soda water, and lime juice.

“You making a witches' potion?” Niall asks, staring at the myriad of ingredients.

Louis rolls his eyes and turns to the items.

“I know you're Irish, but must have seen a mojito before.” Louis says, throwing the mint leaves into a shaker and starts to muddle the leaves.

Louis is so into his muddling that he doesn't notice Harry enter the room. Harry is left to stare, as soon as he walks in he gets an eyeful of Louis flexing his biceps. It's both adorable and so hot. Harry clears his throat and the boys look up to him. Louis' face splits into a grin and lifts the shaker in greeting.

“You didn't strike me as a mojito kind of guy.” Harry comments, walking over to sit down at one of the chairs.

“Thought the sugary mint would calm us after today.” Louis replies, starting to throw in ice and rum into the mix.

Louis finishes up with adding the ingredients and closes up the shaker. He starts to shake the drink and Harry can't help but admire the slight jiggle it gives Louis' whole body. Harry turns his head away respectfully and accidentally looks straight at Niall, who is giving him waggling eyebrows. Oh God.

Louis stops and pours out some sugar before wetting the rims of the glasses and coating the rims in sugar. He sets them down in front of the boys and pours the drinks out of the shaker. 

“Here you go. Bon Appétit or some shit.” Louis says, pouring his own drink.

The guys take their respective sips of the drinks, making sure to lick the rim.

“Yeah, make sure you lick the rim fully, it's always best to lick the rim completely.” Louis comments to to the boys.

“Breathe Styles, breathe!” Niall yells as he pounds on Harry's back as he has started choking.

Harry has wide, teary eyes and is now holding his chest. Mojito is not a good thing to flow down your throat when you gasp.

“Despite how unappetizing every thing is after that display, Styles, that was really good! Where did you learn to make drinks?” Niall compliments, making Louis blush.

“I learned with experience. My friend Zayn,” Niall and Harry visibly flinch,”-and I used to work for a bar right after we both legally could. It was easy money and shaking liquid isn't as hard as people cut it out to be.” Louis excitedly tells them.

Harry and Niall are staring at Louis, quickly bringing down Louis' excitement at the stares. They then turn to each other and the two boys seem to have a conversation mentally before turning back to Louis.

“Lou?” Niall asks quietly.

“Yeah, Niall?” Louis replies quietly, confused at the sudden change in atmosphere.

“Zayn....Zayn who?” he asks hesitantly.

“Wh-” Louis starts, but is interrupted.

“It's probably just a coincidence, Niall. It's not that unusual of a name.” Harry seems to reassure Niall. “So, little innocent Lou working in a bar?” he comments to Louis.

“I'm not innocent! I'm just...conservative.” Louis defends without confidence, his voice drifting at the end.

Louis grabs a glass and furiously starts to scrub at it, making funny faces as if it is literally giving him pain.

Niall and Harry laugh at this and smiles are brought back onto their faces. The tension in the room disappears. It's like hot and cold, hanging out with these guys. One moment they're laughing, the next it's like someone died. 

Louis also laughs along, exuberating happiness on the change of subject. He's proud of the fact that he knows what he know. The catcalls and groping he had to go through, not so much. He is able to usually fake it and make it sound like he and Zayn had the time of their lives. He usually just glosses over the fact that they got the jobs to help pay their family's bills, always helping each other out. Louis still send most of his money home, to this day.

“I never thought that there is a such thing as too clean until now. Louis, you can stop molesting the glass.” Harry comments, making Louis look up at him.

Louis then looks down and realizes that he spaced out again and has been rubbing this glass. Louis quietly sets the glass down, blushing, and walks around the bar. Louis almost hip-checks the pool table on his way around, then he gets an idea.

“I don't know how to play pool.” Louis abruptly says.

“Oh, I could teach you.” Harry offers, standing up.

Yes, Harry knows how to follow script.

“I'm actually pretty good at playing pool.” Niall says, confidently standing next to Harry.

Goddamn it Niall.

“Actually, Niall, I'm pretty cold. Do you think you could get me my jacket?” Louis forcefully suggests.

The lights are not on upstairs as Niall looks entirely confused. He does not understand that Louis is trying to get him out of the room whatsoever.

“Actually, why don't you just run and get one of my jackets?” Harry suggests, turning to Niall.

Yes, Harry! While Harry's head is turned, Louis tries to give Niall the most suggestive wink that he can. It is then, that a light bulb seems to flash above Niall's head and his eyes widen toward Louis in recognition.

Harry sees this and looks at Louis in confusion. While Harry's head is turned to Louis, Niall gives a thumbs up and wiggling eyebrows.

“OK, Lou. I'll make sure that the princess is kept warm!” Niall says, walking out of the room.

Niall is already out of the room before Louis can yell at him for the pet-name. Louis turns to Harry with the sweetest smile he can muster.

“Where do we start?” Louis asks, leaning his hip on against the table.

Harry bites his lip and looks at Louis through his eyelashes, his nose crunching up.

“Go get one of the cue sticks.” Harry tells him, chucking to himself.

Louis walks over and reaches up to grab one of the top cue sticks. From the air he feels on his lower back, he knows that his shirt is ridden up for Harry to see. If Louis jiggles his bum a little when reaching for the stick, Harry doesn't say anything. Louis turns around and sees Harry abruptly look down to his phone. Louis smirks at this and sways his hips as he walks to Harry.

“What's next?” Louis asks, holding the stick against himself.

Harry just clears his throat and sets up the the balls in their order. He sets the triangle aside and steps back. Louis just gives him a look, Louis wasn't lying when he said he doesn't know how to play pool.

“Let me just get my own and I'll show you how to do it.” Harry says, avoiding Louis' gaze.

“No, no. Don't do it for me, do it with me.” Louis emphasizes, gesturing to the table with his cue.

Harry stops and seems to take a deep breath, before walking up behind Louis.

“Lean over the table with the stick in your left hand and under your right armpit.” Harry instructs.

Louis quickly obeys, leaning over the table close enough to conceal his growing erection from the dominance. Louis sticks his bum up a little, almost in an offering gesture, and stares ahead. Harry does not make any sound or movement, for a long time.

Louis checks over his shoulder to see that Harry has his eyes squeezed shut with clenched fists. Louis stares as Harry is breathing deeply and turning his own knuckles white. Harry shifts forward suddenly and Louis almost breaks his neck with the speed that he whips his head forward. 

Suddenly, all Louis can feel is Harry. Harry's biceps on Louis' shoulders, Harry's legs outside of Louis', and Harry's crotch almost pressing straight into Louis' ass.

“You have to put the stick right in between the fingers of your left hand.” Harry starts to explain.

Any person that walks in through the door right then would only be able to see the back of Harry and Louis' little red ears. Louis can almost feel every breath that Harry lets out right on his ear. He can slightly smell some cologne, something that costs more than his rent probably. He feels the bulge of Harry's muscles flexing around him, almost twice as large as Niall's were. Louis is in heaven and half.

“Hey Harry, I-OH! Sorry!” Liam rushes out of the room as soon as he walked in.

The speed that Harry managed to separate himself from Louis is a little concern. He also looks a little relieved from the distance set between them. Louis can't help the spike of insecurity that rushes through him at the thought of Harry not liking proximity. 

Louis shakes himself out of it and walks out after Liam. He finds Liam standing outside, looking as if he was caught doing something wrong.

“You guys done already?” Liam asks, confusion evident on his face.

“Yeah...I guess.” Louis says dismissively.

Liam nods, still confused, and leads Louis to another room down the hall. Niall is sitting on the sectional sofa with a large hoodie in his arms, staring at the football game on the tele. He turns his head to see Louis walk in with Liam. Niall gives a concerned face at Louis' downtrodden demeanor, Louis dismisses this.

Louis takes the large hoodie, the sleeves giving him sweater paws, and watches the rest of the match with Niall. Liam sits down a few spots down and Harry soon joins them, equally distant from everyone.

Louis sees the distance and just snuggles into Niall. Niall puts his arm around Louis' shoulder without even looking and yells something unintelligible about referees at the tele. Louis relaxes against Niall's chest and almost falls asleep with the soft comfort of Harry's hoodie.

Niall's yawning pulls Louis out of his cat nap, soon followed by Liam's yawning.

“I've got to sleep. I have training around 6.” Liam tells them, before getting up and leaving.

Niall nods in agreement and kisses the top of Louis' head before following Liam out the door. Great, now Louis is left alone with Harry, who has been glaring at his hands, and it's awkward. They sit in silence for a few minutes before Louis yawns.

Harry looks up to Louis, his focus entirely on Louis. 

“Tired?” Harry asks.

Louis nods and rubs his eyes with the sweater paws. Harry gets up and stretches back a little, revealing the V right below his abs. Despite how frustrated Louis is, he still has to admire the view.

“C'mon. I'll show you what room you can sleep in.” Harry says, turning around.

When Louis doesn't budge, Harry turns back around to look at Louis. Louis mumbles something, his voice going to straight into the ground as his face is hidden by his hands.

“What?” Harry asks, getting closer.

Louis looks up at Harry, he looks nervous.

“I said, why don't you want to be close to me?” Louis asks, Harry straining to hear it.

Harry lets out a sigh and rubs his face with his hands. He plops down next to Louis on the couch.

“You'll be the death of me, I swear.” Harry mumbles into his hands, “I just...don't want to force you into anything that you would regret.” he explains.

Louis smiles down to the ground, happy now that he knows Harry doesn't hate him.

“Trust me, I know you wouldn't. I just thought...” Louis drifts off, avoiding eye contact.

“Thought what, babe?” Harry asks.

“-that you didn't like me.” Louis confesses, looking into Harry's green eyes.

“Oh, baby. I don't think that you will ever have to worry about that.” Harry reassures Louis, scooting himself closer.

Louis smiles at this, “Does that mean we can maybe...share a bed?” he asks shyly, mumbling the last bit.

Louis is too busy picking at the sleeves of his top that he doesn't see Harry shaking his head and smiling at the ground.

“C'mon.” Harry says, wrapping his arm around Louis' waist.

Louis doesn't have time to protest as Harry pulls him up and helps him out the door. Harry leads Louis down the hall, all the way to the last door. With a hand on Louis' lower back, Harry opens the door and leads him in. 

Louis stops and admires the beauty of the comfortable room. The brick walls help to contrast the chandeliers and luxurious duvet. Louis slowly walks into the room and is able to see tons of Polaroid pictures taped onto the wall of the door. He walks up to a grouping of pictures, all showing various angles from some party including a young Niall and a bushy-haired Liam. Ed is in some of the pictures, looks like he is singing with Niall playing a guitar next to him.

Louis is looking at little pieces of Harry's life, little snapshots of his past. Harry comes up behind Louis and wraps his arms around Louis' waist.

“The en-suite is through that door. Should be an extra tooth brush right behind the mirror.” Harry says into Louis' ear.

It gives Louis a shiver down his spine. Louis doesn't exactly hate that Harry is babying him, taking care of him more like. Louis saunters off into the bathroom, not taking time to look at the extravagance. He knows that he will probably spend some time exploring tomorrow.

Louis brushes his teeth and quickly heads back out into the bedroom. Harry is already in bed, having changed into a t-shirt and boxers. Harry is lying completely on one side of the bed, with a small wall of pillows separating the two sides. Louis rolls his eyes at this and reaches over to fix the situation. 

Louis throws some of the pillows onto the ground before leaping into the bed. He crawls over to Harry and snuggle himself right into Harry. Harry grins wide and wraps his arm around curled up Louis.

Louis is happy where he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't as long as I had hoped. Oh well. I saw a picture of Louis moonlighting a bar and it was adorable.   
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is jamesmall if you want to message me.


	11. Pool side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK man, give me some time and I'll type this out better. I just wanted to get through this part.

The sunlight filtering through the window shines right where Louis' eyes are closed. Louis squeezes his eyes closed, hoping to enjoy more time in this wonderland of pillows and Harry. The air is slightly chilled, the perfect air circulation system doing its job too well. 

Louis pulls the one of the blankets around his body, struggling to do so with Harry’s limbs completely wrapped around him like a squid. Louis attempts to slowly coerce Harry’s body away from his. It proves to be fairly difficult as Harry’s hold on him only gets tighter despite Harry being completely asleep.

Louis’ face is so close to Harry’s, he is able to see every individual eyelash resting above his cheekbones. Louis stares at Harry’s plump lips, admiring their vivid red color. Louis waits for a moment, making sure that Harry is completely asleep, then he goes in for a quick peck. Louis shyly turns away, or in his case, wiggles his body to face the other way.

Louis slowly but surely slides down the bed, sliding out of Harry’s grasp. Harry’s limbs slowly slide off of Louis. Louis soon slides right off the edge of the bed. With a thump, Louis is splayed on the floor with a blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. He sits up and sees that Harry is still completely asleep. 

The coast is clear. Louis gets up, using the bed for support, then hurries to the bathroom. He needs to take his morning pee and then everything will be fine. Now he has time to admire the bathroom. While Louis is doing his business, he stares at the complicated shower system. 

The shower itself looks as if it could fit five people and there are three knobs for it on the wall. The tile on the interior has fresh, white grout and there is not a hint of dirtiness in sight. Louis finishes up his business and walks over to the sink. The extravagant sink.

Louis washes his hands, after figuring out how to turn on the thing. There are buttons along the bottom of it, bordering the counter edge. Louis decides to experimentally press one of the buttons. Suddenly a screen slowly slides out from above the sink, right next to Louis’ head.

Louis presses the on button and discovers that it is a mini flat-screen tv and is showing the news. How boring. 

Louis tries to put it back and pushes a button. The sink becomes illuminated from underneath as a result. Louis tries to press another button and a small area of the mirror comes forward and swings open to reveal a secret cabinet. Louis starts to press other buttons, trying to fix the situation. The tv changes channels, the mirror goes back, the counter moves in and reveals a secret compartment of colognes, the wall next to Louis slides to reveal a full-length mirror. He should fix this. 

Louis presses the button on the other side of the one he originally pressed and the tv turns off and back into the ceiling, everything slides back into place. Louis pats the sink and slowly backs out of the en-suite, a.k.a. the spaceship.

The quiet of the bedroom is a great contrast to how hectic Louis' adventure just was. Louis pulls his blanket tighter around himself and walks up to the wall littered with Polaroids. He goes to a section of photos that all appear to be of a very young Harry with different people. 

A lot of different people. And not just standing next to different people. He appears to be kissing and having them in his lap all these boys and girls. All of the people's faces are scratched out in marker. 

One of the pictures are from some type of bonfire where Harry's are lidded. Another from some club with Harry looking happily drunk. Another picture is a small twink bent over in front of Harry at a party. The pictures only become more compromising as Louis stares at them. 

It's fine that Harry has been with people before Harry, but Louis doesn't like the feeling he gets from looking at all of the pictures. Louis physically moves his head to look at a different section of pictures.

He happens upon a gathering of photos with Liam, Niall, Ed, and Harry all together at different gatherings, ranging from afternoon at the park to rave in the underground to Sunday brunch. They are all candids that they probably took of each other with Harry's camera. There is a guitar in almost every picture, either being held by Niall or Ed. Liam is gleeful in every picture with him, especially in the picture of him and Harry in some type of push-up competition. 

Louis can't keep the grin off of his face as he admires the myriad of captured moments.

“I want to put that camera to good use.” Harry says, holding Louis close.

Louis jumps up at the sudden sound, almost hitting Harry under the chin with his skull. Luckily, Harry has a strong grip on Louis to keep him grounded. Louis turns around and looks up at Harry.

“Hi.” Louis whispers, staring up at sleepy Harry.

“Hello.” Harry replies.

They have a moment of intimacy where they blatantly admire each other and stare. Their moment is interrupted by the sound of Louis' stomach practically yelling at them. He didn't really get to eat much of a dinner last night. 

Harry laughs out loud as Louis blushes completely from head to toe.

“Hungry?” he asks, still holding Louis' hips.

Louis quickly nods and follows Harry out the door, the blanket still wrapped around him. Harry walks down the stairs and into a large kitchen, where Niall and Liam seem to have already beat them. Niall has a huge plate of food that he is gobbling down, while Liam has an empty plate sitting in front of him.

The boys greet Harry and Louis as they walk in, Louis just noticing the cook who is cleaning some knives. 

“Omelettes please, Jan.” Harry requests, sitting down by the boys.

The woman nods at Harry and heads over toward the fridge to start on it. Louis wanders toward the boys, looking around at all the different kitchen appliances. Some of the ovens looks like they could fit fifty cakes. Louis sits down next to Niall, who automatically puts a comforting arm around Louis' shoulders.

“How many people do you need to feed?” Louis questions, looking around.

“Well, we host a ton of people sometimes. So we need to feed them usually. But we also need a few ovens to feed Niall.” Liam comments from the other side of Niall.

Niall elbows him sharply, almost causing Liam to drop his phone. Louis giggles at this and watches as Liam waggles a stern finger at him. Harry watching as well with a smile toward Louis the whole time. Their mini-fight elicits many small giggles from Louis. He also notices the lack of a member.

“Where's Ed?” Louis questions.

“Well, since it's before noon, he's probably in bed. We could never get him to wake up early unless something was literally on fire.” Niall says, his mouth slightly filled with food.

Louis gives a confused glance at the mention of fire. Liam looks up and meets his eyes. Liam sighs and goes onto tell Louis about the time that Niall set fire to the entire hallway through a series of phony firecrackers and drunken stupidity. 

Louis is laughing so hard that he almost knocks his forehead into the plate being set down before him. Harry just catches his head with a single hand and gently pushes it out of the way. Louis throws a grateful look to Harry and then checks out his breakfast.

His plate is full of a gigantic omelette, the different vegetables and cheeses almost spilling out of the dish. With a glance at Harry's, Louis sees that they have the same thing except Harry has an insane amount of steak in his.

They both dive into their breakfast, the dishes tasting just as good as they look. The boys compliment Jan as she continues cleaning up the dirty utensils in the kitchen. Louis and Harry smile at each other with their cheeks stuffed with cheese and Niall is still eating his massive breakfast of steak, eggs, bagels, and more.

Louis finishes and rubs his tummy underneath the blanket that he still wearing. He looks over and Harry is just finishing up.

“Well, Liam and I gotta go train. See you.” Harry says, pressing a kiss to Louis' temple.

Louis sits and watches as Liam and Harry leave the room, Niall finishing his breakfast. Louis kind of wants to watch Harry workout, it's gotta be hot.

“I'll take you to watch him when he finishes up. That's when they do the most work and weight lifting.” Niall says pulling up his phone.

Louis blushes at how easily Niall knew that he wanted that. Louis picks up the dishes and carries them over to the sink, feeling bad for the woman who has to clean up the whole place. Louis goes completely against what he usually does and starts to wash the plates. 

Jan walks up to Louis with a smile on her face and a towel in her hands.

“I really appreciate the effort, darling. But we have a dishwasher.” she comments to Louis, stopping his movements. 

Louis turns completely red and drops the plates into sink. He nods and stares down at the floor. He waddles over toward where Niall is sitting with his phone, never looking up from the floor.

“I want to do something.” Louis mumbles out.

Niall looks up from his phone and looks at the red Louis.

“Umm...sure. You good?” Niall asks, putting his phone down.

Louis nods rapidly and starts walking out of the room, his eyes still on the floor in front of him. Niall follows behind until Louis stops in the foyer. Louis looks up, making eye contact with Niall. 

“Why don't we go swimming?” Niall suggests.

“I don't have a swim suit, though.” Louis replies.

“I'm sure we'll have at least one extra.” Niall reassures him, leading him upstairs.

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“No.” Louis says.

“Why not? I think you would look great.” Niall says.

Niall is holding up probably the smallest pair of swim shorts, if they can even be called that. They are essentially short spandex briefs. They are stark white and leave nothing to the imagination. Louis is adamant on never forcing anyone to see him wearing those. He would look so awkward and just plain weird.

“I don't want to embarrass myself.” Louis retorts, crossing his arms.

The look that Niall gives him speaks a thousand words. One of them being, really? 

“It will just be me and you there.” Niall reassures Louis, pushing the shorts toward him.

Louis begrudgingly takes the shorts and heads toward the bathroom to try them on. When he tries to put them on he realizes that there is an issue. A significant issue.

“Nialler?” Louis shouts through the door.

“Yeah?” Niall responds.

“Where does my dick go?” he questions.

Niall starts cackling outside of the door, the door knob shaking with the weight of him grabbing it to keep upright. Louis patiently waits for him to take this seriously.

“But seriously though.” Louis reiterates.

Niall calms down and wipes tears out of his eyes.

“You gotta tuck, man.” he explains.

“What?” Louis asks.

“Oh, god. Don't you ask me how to do that.” Niall threatens.

Louis honestly doesn't know how to do that with shorts this tight. Skinny jeans are manageable, these are just plain skin-tight. Louis needs help.

“I know that we might not be at that level of friendship yet, but could you help me?” Louis begs through the door, awaiting any response.

“I mean...I guess I can. But no funny business!” Niall says.

Louis nods, but then realizes that Niall can't see that.

“Of course. Same to you.” Louis says, slowly unlocking the door.

Niall takes a deep breath and slowly opens the door. His eyes are completely closed, Louis standing in the middle of the bathroom with his dick hanging over bunched-up shorts. Niall slowly opens his eyes, respectfully looking straight at Louis's face. He marches straight to Louis, grabs his dick, and places it gently in the right place. 

Louis' hands are covering his face at this point. Then, Niall turns and marches right back out. Louis is bright red and Niall isn't too far off.

Louis pulls his shorts the rest of the way up with one hand and then sinks on his knees to the floor. Louis glances down and is horrified at what he sees. A boner. Oh god. Louis can never talk to Niall ever again.

A few minutes have passed and Louis is still in the bathroom. Niall got over it pretty quickly, any good friendship really starts when you touch dicks. Honestly.

“Lou?” Niall calls, knocking on the door.

There is not a sound, Niall gets worried. Maybe he upset Louis, he needs to go apologize. Yes, apologize for his wrong doings. Niall starts to open the door.

“Listen, I'm sor-Louis?” Louis is curled up in a little ball in the bathtub.

Niall walks a little closer to the little ball of Louis. He is worried and he can't tell Louis' mood since his face is completely hidden. Niall kneels down next to the tub, reaching out a hand to touch Louis. When he places his hand on Louis' shoulder, Louis flinches away.

Niall's senses are on high now, Louis' actions are reflecting that he is in danger. Niall's instincts are kicking in and he's already listening for threats within the area. 

That's why Niall is completely caught off-guard when Louis suddenly hugs him tightly. Niall confusedly hugs him back, Louis slightly tearing up.

“I'm sorry!” Louis yells at Niall.

“What did you do wrong?” Niall asks confusedly.

“I understand if we can't be friends anymore.” Louis continues as if Niall hadn't spoken.

This really alerts Niall. He grabs Louis' shoulders and pulls him back so that they can make full eye contact.

“What's wrong?” Niall asks seriously.

Louis sniffles, “I popped a boner.”, he admits.

Niall stares straight at Louis. Then, he starts laughing. And laughing and laughing. Louis becomes more depressed at this reaction. But, before Louis could curl back up, Niall pulls him in for a hug.

“Oh, Lou. That's completely natural.” Niall explains, feeling like a parent giving the sex talk.

Louis waits a bit, then nods along.

“I would be more shocked if you never popped one around me, to be honest.” he adds.

Louis giggles at this, and the situation is solved. 

Louis calms himself down and the boys head toward the indoor pool. Louis takes full advantage of the hot tub and water jets. They play games, relax, and genuinely enjoy the pool time. Louis even forgets to feel a single shred of insecurity around Niall. 

They dry off eventually, whipping each other with wet towels and turning slightly sexual.

They are so busy with drying themselves, that they don't notice the other person that's joined them.

“Is this what you do when we train, Niall?” Harry asks, hands on his hips.

They boys whip around and look at Harry. Louis has to try his hardest to not gain another erection. Harry is completely shirtless with just a pair of gym shorts and training shoes. His hair is tied back and his whole body has a layer of sweat. His abs are rock hard from being worked out so frequently in the past hour. Louis also remembers that he missed out on watching Harry work out. 

Louis also realizes that he is still wearing his little suit, but the towel is currently covering it. Niall told Louis how cute he looks in it, so Harry should like it. Niall is teasing Harry, so Louis wants some attention.

Louis decides to be bold and completely drops his towel. He definitely has Harry's attention now. Louis slowly turns and bends over to pick the towel up, knowing that Harry is getting full view of his ass. Louis turns back around and sees that Harry is still staring.

Niall seems to notice this too, as he starts to full on smirk. He walks up to Harry and claps him on the shoulder.

“Well, I touched his dick before you.” Niall states casually before sprinting away.

“What?!” Harry shouts, whipping around and chasing after Niall.

Louis smiles and picks up his things to catch up with the boys. He should keep on the suit a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Nouis with too much passion. Quick question, should i bring in another character that would only be there for like, one chapter, and cause something to happen between Larry or have them go on a date? Let me know.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is jamesmall if you want to message me.


	12. Festival Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is to be noted that any and everywhere outfit they wear is either inspired by something that they wore or just an outfit that they actually wore. Just in case you want picture help, just look up whatever I write that they're wearing.

Louis is chasing after where the boys disappeared. He is still running around in his little suit, the item of clothing not doing too much support. But, beauty is pain they say. 

Louis runs around another corner, slowly losing himself in the home, only to see yet another corridor. Oh dear. Louis does not remember where he came from or where he is going entirely. The doors are unmarked and Louis can't find where one corridor ends or where another begins.

Louis hurries up to a door that is slightly opened, he opens it and sees exercise equipment of all kinds. A giant mirror taking up the entire wall opposite of Louis, making Louis able to see his own distressed self. Louis hurries out of the empty room and runs to another.

He opens the next slightly open door and the smell of fresh laundry hits his nose. Walking in slightly, Louis is able to spot folded clothing all around and can hear the soft sounds of running washing machines. Louis is about to walk in further, when he spots a younger woman folding clothing behind a row of hanging pants.

The young woman is wearing a soft blue dress with a lighter apron on. Her hair is tied back into a bun and there is a small smile on her face, despite the fact that she is doing laundry. Louis slowly inches toward the woman, he needs to know where to go.

Her humming is soothing and the scent of fresh laundry is lulling Louis slightly. Okay, so Louis can take a nap. Louis stands up and walks over to a pile of folded blankets. He politely sets most of them aside, not wanting to dirty them, and curls up under one of them on a pile of towels.

Louis' eyes slowly shut, the woman's humming acting as a lullaby, and everything is at peace. Louis falls asleep for a surprisingly long amount of time.

Louis is woken up by the sound of a woman clearing her throat. Louis opens one eye, glancing at the source of the noise. The young woman from earlier standing above him with a smile on her face. Her features are gentle and she has very kind of eyes.

“Good morning, Mr. Tomlinson.” she says sweetly. 

Louis looks up at the woman clearly, he notices that she looks no older than Louis himself. Louis sits up and yawns wide, he almost forgot where he was. Louis stands up slowly, not realizing that he is still wearing the suit. Although, when he stands up fully the girl lets out a little gasp. 

Louis hurriedly grabs the blanket and wraps it around his own waist. The girl is giggling and Louis is blushing, staring down at his feet. 

Harry decides to burst in that moment, and completely misreads the situation. He takes one look at a blushing Louis with only a blanket covering him and the giggling girl, before he intervenes.

“There you are! You were just spending some time with Eleanor, I see.” Harry says, walking in between the two.

The two whip their heads at the sound of his voice and both blush in response. Harry sweeps into Louis' space, grasping his shoulders. Harry turns over his shoulder and throws a look toward Eleanor. She sees this and nods before scurrying away.

“Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to join me tonight.” Harry suggests, his hands rubbing Louis' shoulders.

“Where to?” Louis questions.

“A small festival that Ed is helping out at, Niall and Liam are both busy, so.” Harry quickly explains.

“So, not a date?” Louis asks.

“Yeah! It's a date. Don't worry.” Harry quickly reassures him.

Louis nods, the force of his nod successfully knocking off his towel. Harry's eyes shoot down to the lovely number, his pupils dilate significantly. Harry shoots his eyes up to Louis' face with all of his will-power.

“Welp, I best be going now.” Harry states awkwardly, before marching out from where he came.

Louis giggles at his antics, somewhat closely following behind in hopes of not getting lost again. Louis holds his hands together in front of his crotch. He almost runs into Eleanor in the hallway, causing both of them to blush completely. 

Louis makes his way out of the endless hallways thanks to the sounds of Harry's feet leading him out. Louis eventually finds himself in the main foyer, not being able to stop himself from a small victory dance. 

Louis is still dancing when a woman, wearing similar clothes to Eleanor, walks up to him. Louis notices the woman and abruptly stops, pretending that he is completely cool with this situation. The woman just gives him a small smile.

“I can help you get ready, Mr. Tomlinson.” she says, gesturing up the stairs.

Louis nods and follows the woman up the stairs. She leads him into a large bathroom, the bathtub stretching across one of the corners and it looks like it could fit a small family. She walks over to the cupboards on the other side and pulls out an array of colorful objects and containers. She then throws some of the color balls into the tub before turning on the hot water in it. She sets up the containers on the edge and tests out the water with her hand and it fills up.

Louis watches as the water in the tub comes up in different colors, small sparkles and flower petals popping up, and a sweet aroma fills the bathroom. Once the woman deems it ready, she proudly stands up and brushes off her dress.

“The bath is ready for you, sir. Shall I leave you?” she says politely.

“Do you not normally leave?” Louis questions her.

“Some guests enjoy the company instead of sitting in here alone. I can also wash hair thoroughly.” she tells Louis.

“...can you stay then?” Louis asks, blushing.

She smiles and nods. She politely turns around as Louis strips down and slides into the tub, the water feeling absolutely divine. Louis can't help the small moan he lets out as the water slides around him. The woman turns around and kneels down by the tub. Louis splashes around a bit, then is suddenly uncomfortable with the silence.

“So...what brings you to the residence?” Louis prompts, resulting in laughter from the woman.

“Well, if you couldn't tell, I work here.” she answers simply.

“Thank you for explaining. Why do you work here?” Louis implores, the woman squirting shampoo into her hands. The woman starts to lather the shampoo into Louis' scalp before answering.

“I am here because Mr. Styles is a saint. Like all of the other lovely folks that work here, I started out in a bad place. My parents left me, I couldn't pay for university, I had nothing going for me. Then, one day, I was sitting on the curb of my old street, my landlord kicked me out for not paying rent. I heard a voice above me, asking if I needed a job. I looked up to see Mr. Styles looking down with so much kindness in his eyes. I happily accepted the offer, despite the dangers that could have come with it, I didn't have much of a choice. Harry didn't even make me work for the first week I was here. He just let me focus on gaining my energy back from eating nothing to eating everything. I eventually refused to stay here unless he let me work, I couldn't stand the thought of him paying for me to just lounge around. Mr. Styles let me go into guest care, I take care of the guests that stay here.” she explains thoroughly while massaging Louis' head.

Louis stares ahead, joy spreading throughout him as he hears about just how amazing Harry. She said that she's just like everyone else here, does everyone here have a similar story? Has Harry helped every single person here?

“Tip your head back, Mr. Tomlinson” she instructs Louis. 

Louis obeys, letting the silky water seep into the back of his hair. Louis still flinching a little at the formal name.

“You can just call me Louis, why does everyone call me that? How does everyone know who I am anyway?” Louis asks while she starts to lather on the conditioner.

“Thank you, Louis. But I think I might just stick to Mr. Tomlinson. We all find it easier to formalize the names of those who we respect. Plus, we always know the names of all the guests who are going to stay here.” she explains, quickly finishing up with the conditioner.

“But you have no reason to respect me, you have no bias. I have done nothing special and Harry invited me over last minute.” Louis ponders out loud, tipping his head back into the water.

“But you are a special guest. I am leaving you to finish washing your body. Your outfit is on the counter, Mr. Tomlinson.” she says before getting up and leaving the room.

Louis watches her leave, letting her words sink in. Louis is special. But he hasn't done anything. Also, Harry has let them know about Louis before-hand. That means that Harry was expecting Louis to come over eventually. Maybe Harry just does that for every single person he dates. But, in reference to the pictures on his wall, that would be a lot of people. Does Harry think that Louis is special? Louis definitely thinks that Harry is special. Harry makes Louis melt into a puddle every time that he walks into a room and he only gets better as Louis learns more and more things about him. It's a bit daunting that Louis is only getting small glimpses of Harry, not really knowing everything about Harry. He wants to, he wants to everything that there is to know about Harry. 

Louis finishes up with rubbing his legs and torso in the body wash left on the edge, the smell of coconuts filling his nostrils. Louis pulls the plug out of the tub, letting the water sink around him. The water all disappears and leaves the petals and glitter sticking to Louis' body. Louis giggles and picks off the petals, trying to keep the pretty glitter on. 

The towels left for him are just as soft and fluffy as the very first one he was given at the bakery. Louis lavishes in the towels, letting the soft materials caress his whole body. Louis drops the towels and walks to the clothes left for him. He picks them up to see that he was left black skinny jeans that are a little loose on the bum, clean white vans, and a red sweater that looks way too big to not belong to Harry.

Louis picks up all of the clothing, only then noticing the flash of white that falls on the ground. Louis sets down the items back on the counter, reaching down and grabbing whatever fell. Louis picks up the cloth, feeling the rough lace on it. Louis picks up each side, revealing that it is a pair of lace panties. Louis' breath hitches, staring at the cloth in front of him. Louis blushes down his neck, but also really likes the idea of Harry picking these out.

Louis carefully slips on the panties, trying his best to not to mess up anything. He pulls up the panties, tucking himself in like Niall did, and has to stop and admire. Louis turns around in front of the mirror, staring at his own bum. The white of the panties contrast a lot with the tan of Louis' skin. The lace almost transparent over Louis' bum. 

Louis stares at himself for a bit, then he snaps out of it. Louis slides on his clothes, discovering how soft and comfortable everything is. Louis smiles at himself in the mirror and leaves the room. He makes his way down the stairs, hoping that Harry will be there soon. 

Louis looks up to see that Harry is in fact waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, his grin wide. Harry seems to have changed as well and even taken a shower. Harry is wearing a brown pair of ankle boots, black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and his hair looks soft and curly while slightly being held back by an American flag bandanna. Harry is also holding what looks like two jackets in one of his hands.

Harry's eyes are following Louis the whole way toward him. Louis grinning back as Harry's glee spreads to him.

“Ready to go?” Harry asks.

Louis happily nods. Harry wraps his empty arm around Louis' lower back and walks them out of the front door. There is a car already waiting for them, the same man from before in the jumpsuit holding the keys in his hand. Harry leads them down the front steps, then opens the passenger door for Louis to get in. Harry grabs the keys from the man, clapping him on the back as he does.

Harry climbs in and then they're off. The tension that was there the first date completely gone despite the fact that this is only their second date. Harry leads the conversation on a debate about Oreo's, Louis mockingly disappointed with Harry's decision to go pro-cookie. 

They laugh and sing to the radio the whole way to the festival. By the time the reach it, the sun is nearly setting. Harry gets out, grabbing one of the jackets, and walks around to help Louis out. Louis gets out and stands up next to Harry, who is holding out the jacket for Louis. 

“I won't need a jacket, it won't get that cold.” Louis tells him.

“You should take the jacket.” Harry says back, nudging the jacket toward him.

“No, thank you. I won't need it.” Louis says back, defiantly. 

“Fine, but I'm going to wear a jacket and if you get cold you can't take it.” Harry says back, a little frustrated.

Louis rolls his eyes, not happy that this is how they started out their date, while Harry walks around and throws on the larger green jacket with white faux-fur on the inside. Harry locks up the car, then throws his arms of Louis' shoulder, relaxing Louis. They make their way out of the back lot that Harry has parked in and go through some trees to find themselves in the midst of a music festival.

There is some nondescript band on stage, alcohol everywhere, and strange things occurring all around. Louis couldn't be happier. The speakers are blasting the music into the ears of the drug-induced dancers who throw themselves across blankets containing groups of happy people. Everyone is happy, everyone is welcoming. The barefoot are dancing, the mellow are nodding, the hyped are chugging down liquids from red solo cups. 

Louis does notice, though, that everyone is wearing the same paper bracelet. It looks like an entrance pass of some sort.

“Don't we need one of those?” Louis asks Harry, pointing to the the bracelets around people's wrists.

“Nah, trust me. I think we'll be good.” Harry reassures him.

They walk a little further in, enjoying their surroundings. Harry manages to by-pass a long line and grabs each of them a bottle of beer. Louis takes the bottle, taking down a satisfying gulp. Harry sees this. 

“Better be careful, babe. Shouldn't be getting drunk on only our second date.” Harry teases.

“I will not drunk.” Louis says, rolling his eyes.

They make their way further, eventually running into Ed. He has a guitar tied to him and he looks like he belongs. He blends in perfectly and tons of people seem to recognize him. He talks with Louis and Harry for a bit, talking excitedly about who is supposed to perform later. Louis genuinely enjoys it all, Harry looking like he does too.

At one point, Harry pulls Louis aside and toward a bunch of trees. Harry leads them deeper into the foliage, making sure that Louis doesn't trip on the roots sticking out. They reach a clearing, with a perfect view of the setting sun. The clearing is a field with large rocks sticking out every now and then, perfect seats for the perfectly-aligned horizon in view of the setting sun. Louis admires the view, the orange of the sun setting casting across the field and painting everything beautifully. None of it looks real. Louis feels like he has just walked into some kind of Van Gogh painting. 

Harry sits them down on a large rock, the band within earshot. Louis sits next to Harry and leans his head on his shoulder. They watch as the sun slowly sinks lower to the horizon until it is halfway down.

Louis can't help the shiver that he gets from the decreased temperature. The warmth of the sun no longer as easily available. Harry is watching him.

“You cold?” Harry asks.

“Nope.” Louis denies.

Harry shakes his head and turns back to the sun as it is almost completely down. Louis shivers again as the wind picks up around them.

“You sure you're not cold?” Harry asks.

“Not at all.” Louis lies, not wanting to admit defeat.

Harry sighs and turns back as the sky turns darker, revealing twinkling stars. They point out a few constellations before Louis shivers again. Harry just lets out a big sigh and takes off his own jacket. He shoves the jacket around Louis' shoulders.

Louis looks at Harry, then slowly slips his arms into the jacket around him, appreciating the warmth that surrounds him. Harry wrapping his arm back around Louis' shoulders and leads his head to rest on his own shoulder. Louis happily obliges.

They soon get up and head back to the festival. They stop by one of the beer stalls, when Harry's demeanor changes. Harry is smiling and looking into Louis' eyes, then all of a sudden he sees something over Louis' shoulder and his face turns deadly. Louis gets scared, trying to glance over his shoulder. Harry grabs his face so that he can't look.

“Stay right here, okay?” Harry says, Louis nods frantically.

Harry sets off in the direction of whatever he spotted. And now Louis is left all alone. Louis inches closer to the beer stand, finding comfort in the presence of the guy who works there. The guy must notice how nervous Louis looks.

“Don't look so tense, kid. Here, this'll loosen you up.” the guys says, handing him one of the beers for free. 

Louis gratefully takes it and chugs it down, hoping that Harry will come back soon. He has to. Louis has his jacket hostage. The man ends up handing Louis a few more beers, both of them starting a casual conversation about the tattoos that each of them have.

The man ends up being really funny and nice. His voice comforts Louis and his worries float away, or maybe it's the number of beers that he keeps handing Louis. By bottle 9, Louis is a little tipsy. A lot tipsy.

Louis says good-bye to the man at the stand, hearing his favorite song come on. The band performing it is doing a cover and Louis wants to get closer. Some Australian boy band. 

Louis shoves his way into the crowd, making his way to the stage. Louis smiles and sings loudly along with everyone around him. He even shares a moment with the drunk woman who looks like she could be the mother of five. 

Louis is having a great time, so he is extremely upset when someone forcefully pulls him out. He blinks up and sees that it's Harry that is tugging him out of his fun zone. Harry's jaw is set and his lips are set into a thin line. Everyone that they pass looks terrified. Louis just giggles as Harry pulls him away from everyone. 

Harry stops them suddenly, causing Louis to go crashing into Harry. Louis is too lazy to push himself back, so he just wraps his arms around Harry's back. Harry pulls Louis' head back a little, so that they can make full eye contact.

“Why did you move? I turned back to find you, only to realize that you disappeared. Do you realize how worried I became? I thought something awful happened to you! I thought-Louis let go of my hair.” Harry pulls Louis' clenched hand away from his hair.

“But it's so soft! I wanna!” Louis whines, reaching for Harry's hair with his other hand.

“How much have you had to drink?” Harry asks, grabbing both of Louis' hands.

“Can you kiss me, please? Or more?” Louis asks suggestively.

Harry sputters and almost lets go of Louis with the force of the coughs forced out of him. When he looks back at Louis, his eyes are a bit more dilated.

“What?” he asks, staring in Louis' glazed eyes.

“I want to you to touch me. I even wore the panties! Please Hazzy!” Louis slurred out, messing up Harry's name.

Harry is about to reply when Louis lunges forward and tried to kiss Harry. Harry melts into the half-kiss, enjoying the moment given to him. But as quick as it happened, Harry pulls Louis' face away with his hands. He rests their foreheads together.

“As much as I would love that, I want you to be completely aware when we do anything like that.” Harry tells Louis seriously, trying his best to not glance at the white lace peaking out of Louis' pants. 

Louis groans at this, not liking it one bit. Harry takes Louis hands and leads him back to the car. He helps/carries him into the passenger seat. Louis squirms a lot and randomly sings out whatever song comes to mind. Harry just shakes his head and gets into the driver's seat.

Louis spends the whole ride home either singing to random songs or complaining about how much of a waste the panties were. Harry just grips the steering wheel and tries to get them home safely.

Harry makes it back eventually and helps carry Louis out of the car. Louis is almost passed out by this point, Harry completely holding his weight. Harry carries him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He carefully sets Louis on the bed. He helps to take all of Louis' clothes off of him, except the panties. 

Harry, upon seeing this, needs to go into the bathroom for a bit, to um...adjust. He makes it back and changes out of his clothes and climbs into the bed behind Louis. Louis is slightly conscious enough to notice this. 

Louis turns around and snuggles his face into Harry's chest, his mouth so close to Harry's nipple.

“Night night Hazza.” he murmurs into Harry's chest.

“Sleep well, Lou.” Harry whispers back.

“Love you.” he murmurs back, barely loud enough for Harry to hear.

“I love you, too” Harry whispers back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not kidding when I say, before i was a larrie, i literally hated Louis for stealing Eleanor from me. I have such a massive crush on Eleanor. I love her. But I just have a quick question,mpreg or nah? Not soon. Definitely not soon. But just for future reference.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is jamesmall if you want to message me.


	13. Picnic with a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, just busy/stressed. Enjoy!

Louis' head is absolutely pounding. The nerves surrounding his skull are throbbing and the back of his eyelids are aching. The light filtering into the room, that Louis used to think was beautiful, is now the worst thing in life. Everything hurts and everything is too hot.

Louis throws his covers off, whipping his arms out to his sides. Louis ever so slowly blinks open his eyes, sticking to mostly squinting. His vision is fuzzy and it hurts to see. Louis opens his eyes all the way stares up at the ceiling, dreading all of his life decisions. 

Louis makes a daring move and sits up, regretting it very quickly. Louis sprints into the bathroom and empties his stomach into the porcelain bowl. Louis flushes after completely draining himself. He washes his hands, keeping his eyes to the ground. He chances a look into the mirror, only spotting a very tired boy staring back at him. 

Louis ambles back to the bed, wanting comfort in Harry. Louis sticks his hands onto the top only to find that Harry is no longer there. He finds two pills and an orange juice on the side table in his stead. Louis pouts at this, but takes the medicine anyway.

His mind clears soon enough, just enough to realize that he shouldn't go downstairs. He walks over to the closet, grabbing the largest articles of clothing he can find. It ends up being a pair of joggers and a hoodie. He throws on the pants, rolling them up at the ankles to he doesn't trip, and slides into the soft hoodie. 

Louis grabs his phone, that has been seriously neglected, before he glides down the stairs. Louis finds several texts from his mother, asking about his well-being, a few from Stan of the same nature, and some from Zayn inviting him back out again. Louis hurriedly texts back Stan and his mother, assuring both of them that he is fine. He also texts back Zayn, affirming that he wants them to meet up again. 

Zayn, surprisingly, texts back quickly with a funny gif. Louis is giggling, an action his head regrets, when he walks into the kitchen. Niall picks up his head, setting down the pint he was drinking right by his massive breakfast. 

The chef smiles at Louis and starts to make some type of fried breakfast, the ultimate hangover cure, and Louis smiles back at her. Louis plops himself down next to Niall, texting Zayn back another funny gif. Niall must notice the big smile on his face, as he tries to sneak a look.

“Who're ya texting?” he questions, not hiding his curiosity.

“Just a friend of mine.” Louis answers, hiding his phone screen from Niall's vision.

“A good friend?” Niall asks carefully.

“Really good.” Louis replies absentmindedly.

Niall's eyebrows shoot up, giving Louis a look of pure disappointment. Louis notices the lack of speech from Niall, and glances at him. He sees the face and groans.

“Not like that, Nialler!” Louis says to the ceiling.

Niall smiles at this and nods appreciatively. The chef sets down Louis' breakfast in front of him, prompting the boys to focus back on their meals. Louis is shoving food into his face and glances over at Niall. Niall is in the middle of a huge gulp of alcohol, it almost makes Louis throw up just thinking about it. Louis looks down at Niall's plate and sees sweets and meats and potatoes of all kind.

“How can you eat that?!” Louis asks incredulously.

“Don't worry, hon. He's Irish.” the chef shouts from afar.

Niall just gives Louis his best shrug and goes back to his meal. Louis spends the time eating and texting Zayn, planning their next hangout. They have agreed to do their old fashion get-together. Zayn googles some obscure outdoor location, Louis brings a basket of store-bought food while Zayn brings his own supply of weed. They hangout there until the weed runs out or they get tired.

The best hangout they had was when they ditched school in secondary and drove up to a mansion. Louis managed to convince the staff that they were new hires and were there to work on the pool. They got to splash around for about an hour before they were caught. The man who owns the mansion ended being cool and they all shared a lovely dinner. Now, every time they spot him in the news they send a copy of it with their doodles all over it to his address. The man hopefully gets a good laugh out of it. Louis really was just impressed by his own acting skills on that adventure despite Zayn's inability to be serious. Good times.

Louis is giggling at the memory, his head cleared enough that it doesn't hurt too bad, Niall just stares dubiously at Louis being cute. They finish up their meals and Niall leads Louis to their game room. They play Fifa for a bit, before Louis remembers his lack of snuggle-bug this morning. 

“So...where's Harry?” Louis asks, trying his best to sound casual.

“Oh. He's out with Lou, they like to shop together. Harry gets to carry Lux and Lou gets to pick out his clothes.” Niall explains, keeping his eyes on the screen.

“Who's Lux?” Louis asks.

“That's Lou's daughter. She's a sweetie, I swear Harry only ever hangs out with Lou just to see her.” Niall says, a smile on his face.

Louis' body tingles at the thoughts of Harry and small children, setting off his own love of children. He and Harry should have children. Wait, what?

“You still with us, Tommo?” Niall asks, waving his hands in front of his face.

“What? Oh.” Louis replies, startled, “What happened?”.

“youwn” Niall mumbles.

“What?” Louis asks.

“You won.” Niall repeats dejectedly.

Louis can't help the laugh that startles out of him. He beat Niall even though he was out of it for the majority of the playing time. Based on Niall's sad face, he knows too. Louis is laughing and laughing, ignoring the elbow digging into his stomach.

“Anyway.” Niall interrupts, Louis' laughter subsiding, “When do you need to go home? Do you need anything?” he asks.

Louis shrugs at this, “Not for now. I am going out with my friend a little later today.” he mentions.

Niall nods at this and they both go back to playing a new game. They bicker for a bit, Niall claims that Louis is cheating on a game because no one can be that good and have never played it before. Louis just laughs at him, nibbling on the chips that a worker brought in. Due to Niall's insistence, the young man even joined them for a match. Louis watches on as he sees how Niall treats the people who work under him, with complete kindness.

They finish up soon enough, Louis having won everything. Niall pouts as he leads Louis out of the room. Louis chances a look at the time, seeing that it's almost time for him to meet up with Zayn. 

“Hey, I've gotta go.” Louis says, tugging Niall to a halt. 

“Go where?” Niall asks, turning his body to face Louis.

“I'm meeting up with a friend of mine for lunch. Do you think that you could give me a ride?” Louis says, jutting out his bottom lip.

Niall laughs at this, “Of course I can drive you. How long will you be gone?” Niall asks, his arm wrapping around Louis' waist.

“Not long. I can just text you.” Louis assures him.

They make their way toward the garage, having to leave the house and walk over toward the large building. Niall is still leading Louis, with his arm wrapped around Louis' waist, and they enter through a side door. Louis is hit by the beautiful sight of cars of all kind. The seem to be arrange in a diagonal order of currency, the farthest car looks like it could have been made before any of them were born.

Louis walks forward in awe, a desire to stroke the hood of some of the Jags growing in the pit of his stomach. He is interrupted by the man who always appears to be in an inflammable jump-suit. 

“How can I help you boys?” he asks, wiping his dirty hands on a rag of some type.

“Just give us a classic, John. The weather's nice enough out for no roof.” Niall says to the man.

John nods and walks over to the wall of keys, all covered by a layer of Plexiglas with some intricate lock blocking the keys off. He opens the lock and slides the Plexiglas open. He reaches up and grabs a pair of keys and then shuts the whole system. 

John tosses the keys in the air and whistles while making his way through the rows. He reaches a vintage convertible and unlocks it. He slides into the driver's seat and carefully turns it on and drives it toward the front. He hops out right when the car is in front of them and presses a button on the wall, initiating the main garage door opening. The large door slowly slides up and Niall is handed the keys with a pat on his back.

Louis and Niall get into the car and drive off with a wave to John. Louis pulls out his phone to make sure that they head to the right location. The boys chatter the whole way there, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun on their faces. Spring is blossoming around them in forms of full trees and thick fields as they head further into the wilderness. 

“So, Louis. Tell me a bit about this...'friend'” Niall questions at one point.

“Well, there's not much I can tell you about him.” Louis shrugs off.

“Their name could be good place to start.” Niall suggests playfully.

“You got me there Nialler. His name is Zayn, quite a-” Louis is interrupted by the tug of seat belt against his torso.

Niall has completely slammed on the breaks and Louis has never been so thankful of modern vehicle safety conditions. Niall has this spooked look in his eyes, as if he has just seen a ghost in the road. Louis checks around and sees that there is no animal the Niall avoided hitting.

“What the fuck!” Louis shouts, his chest hurting a bit from the force of the car stopping.

Their car is now stopped in the middle of the woods. Thankfully, there is nobody else for miles so Niall didn't accidentally start a car crash. 

“Say it again.” Niall tells Louis.

“What the fuck?” Louis repeats.

“No, before that.” Niall asks timidly, his face full of shock.

“Oh. His name is Zayn.” Louis repeated willingly, slightly scared of Niall's reaction.

Niall licks his lips, “Can you give me a brief description of your friend?” Niall asks hurriedly.

“Well, um. He is taller than me, tan, he has really long eyelashes, a beard, a nose piercing, blonde hair-” Louis lists off.

Niall lets out a huge whoosh of air in relief, mumbling “not ours then” under his breath.

“Sorry 'bout that. Thought you were talking about someone else. Someone who was pretty close with us.” Niall says, starting to drive forward again.

“Yeah, thanks. I probably have bruises on my chest now from that.” Louis accuses Niall, “But you know someone else named Zayn?” he asks.

“Yeah, we all did. But he was definitely tan, but with different features than what you described.” Niall assures Louis.

Louis nods along to this, guess that most names have more than one person under them. It can't be that uncommon of a name. Besides, there were three guys and a girl in Louis' class named Kaylor. Things happen. 

They drive further, following the voice on Louis' phone. Louis has nick-named her 'Bossy-Gem Penelope Smith' because she's a bossy GPS. Gem guides them to Louis' final destination eventually, Niall pulling up to the start of a trail into the woods.

Niall seems hesitant to let Louis wander into the woods without seeing his friend there, but Louis assures Niall that Zayn would never pick a place without cell reception. Louis climbs out of the car and heads into the woods. Niall promises to pick Louis up because he needs to make some runs into the town. 

True to his word, Louis even calls Niall after he's been walking in the woods for a bit to prove his ability to contact people. 

Louis keeps walking on the trail, hoping that Zayn brought food since Louis only has a small blanket for just the two of them to sit on that he found in the car Niall drove. Louis trips over roots and stumbles over rocks with the blanket under his armpit. 

Louis stumbles into a bush, seeming to be a dead end, but ends up falling through onto softer ground. Louis glances up from his position below and sees that he has enters a beautiful grassy oasis. There is a beautiful pond with large rocks surrounding it. Louis also spots Zayn resting on one of the rocks, looking majestic as ever. 

“Oi Oi!” Louis shouts to gain Zayn's attention.

Zayn looks over at Louis, seeing him lying on the ground. A smile grows on Zayn's face and he waves Louis over, slightly laughing at his predicament. Louis lifts himself off the ground and walks over to the rock that Zayn is resting on. On his way up, Zayn has to make comments about how nice Louis' ass probably looks from behind as he climbs.

Louis eventually gets to the top of the rock and notices the small picnic basket sitting next to Zayn. Louis quickly lays out the blanket and Zayn adjusts so that they can both rest on it.

Louis situates himself and plops down right next to Zayn, leaning his head slightly on his shoulder.

“So...how's my partner in crime been?” Louis asks, smiling.

“I've been chilling, mate. I got a flat in the depths of London, somehow. Plus, I got a job as a waiter at a nice family restaurant. Everything is going pretty well. I am happy for once in a long time. How's about you, babes?” Zayn says.

“Well...”, Louis is blushing, “I met someone special.” he admits.

Zayn's arms tightens around Louis, “Who?” he asks.

“His name is Harry, Harry Styles.” Louis says excitedly.

Zayn's arm around him gets crushingly tight, almost squeezing the air out of him. The smile on his face completely drops and his eyes have practically hardened. Louis' smile drops as well at the change in attitude and becomes worried as silence stretches out between them. 

“Louis...I don't think that you should be near this man.” Zayn says.

And Louis does not like that at all. It's as if Zayn doesn't want Louis to be happy. How does he even know this man?

“And why not?! Why do you know him!?” Louis asks angrily.

Zayn lets out a sigh at this, staring out at the view in front of them. The nature surrounding them serene and silent, amplifying the tension between the two boys. Their proximity not changing despite the evident conflict happening between them. 

“Yeah, I do.” Zayn finally answers.

Louis' head whips toward Zayn, shocked at his words. 

“How do you know him?” he asks.

Zayn lets out another sigh and lays back on the rock, thus distancing himself from Louis. Louis does not like this and moves so that he is resting his head on Zayn's chest. Zayn smiles down at him then clears his throat.

“Styles and I met a long time ago. Way back when you and I were only in our secondary school days. It wasn't a complicated meeting, it was completely by chance. I was working at that ice cream parlor by the outskirts of town. Mum and Dad were struggling a bit for money and I wanted to help the best that I could, you know.”, Louis nods along as he knows that Zayn was helping his parents pay for their bills, but he never knew where Zayn worked.

“Anyway, turns out that Styles used to work at that same parlor when he was younger, had a real close relationship with the owner. He was always visiting, every Friday, and subtly slipping cash into her register, I would sometimes have to help him do the act. Boss didn't like to know that Harry was helping to pay for her. But he would do it nonetheless and I grew a form of respect for him. I got to learn a bit about his family and life through his brief conversations with the boss on slow afternoons. Sounded dangerous, but he also sounded really successful. Which is something that I could get into.” Zayn admits.

Louis sits up and rests his chin on his knees, showing Zayn his full attention.

“One Friday, he came in and the owner wasn't there, just me looking after the shop while she ran out for more supplies.” Zayn continues.

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“Don't worry about it, I can just wait for her to come back.” Harry assures Zayn.

Zayn just shyly nods at Harry, everything about him beyond intimidating. Even while Harry goes and sits down on a pastel bar stool, he looks absolutely terrifying. His curly hair frames his face and the collar of his long coat cutting right below his harsh jaw line. Every time that Harry comes in, he has this harsh look on his face right before he walks in that only Zayn can seem to see. 

Some days he looks absolutely exhausted, as if he had been working all day, adorning either a suit or some well-to-do outfit. Other days he walks in with blood on his face or a fading black eye to match his slouchy outfit. However, no matter how weary he looks, he always plasters on a smile for the boss.

Zayn is forced to awkwardly sweep at the spotless floor, not wanting to look like he's slacking off in front of Harry. A few tense minutes pass as Zayn moves the broom back and forth while Harry does stuff on his phone.

Suddenly, Harry jumps up out of his seat. Zayn almost pops a vein as his eyes widen and his heart rattles in his rib cage. Harry stares right into Zayn's soul.

“I almost forgot, silly me. I should put the money in her register while she's gone.” Harry says, a smile on his face.

Zayn watches as Harry pulls a wad of cash out of his pocket and makes his way behind the counter. Zayn backs out of the way and Harry opens up the device. He quickly unwraps the money and shoves it into the register, giving it the appearance of used money. As Harry closes it back up, Zayn can't help questioning.

“Why do you do that every time?” Zayn asks, leaning his cheek on the top of his broom. 

Harry turns to Zayn, staring straight into his eyes, but guiltily scratching the back of his neck.

“I guess, one could say that she is what got me where I am. My parents weren't in the best of financial situations, so even at my young age she took me in as an employee. Without my knowing, she paid me way over minimum wage and I was really able to help out my family. Even when I started to get involved with bad things, she was just my rock. She was always there. I kind of owe her my everything in that sense. Although, all she has asked for in return is to meet my true love, as cliché as she is.” Harry sheepishly answers.

Zayn stares in wonder, as Harry explains how he got out of a situation way too similar to his own. He is also amazed that after all of this time, Harry still comes back to visit. He seems to have way too much free time, which begs the question.

“How do you earn all of this money, anyway?” Zayn asks, not realizing how invasive the question is for a guy he has barely ever spoken to.

But, Harry laughs nonetheless. Zayn is left blushing as Harry claps his shoulder with his hand.

“I am, how should I phrase this, a leader type. I lead a large group of people that work under me. We handle multiple cases, typically either stealing or avenging. Due to our high success rates, we usually get paid very well. I couldn't imagine a school-boy like you would know, but I run the RR gang.” Harry tells Zayn, patting his shoulder.

Zayn tries his best to not be insulted by the label, but he also has gears whirring in his head. He really needs to help out his family. The last talk they had with their landlord ended in threats and big numbers about rent. 

Harry starts to walk away, but Zayn quickly grabs his coat in a rush of pure desperation. Harry turns and looks at Zayn, his one eyebrow raised in question.

“How would someone get in?” Zayn asks as confidently as he can.

Harry's eyebrow only goes higher, looking Zayn up and down in question. He then crosses his arms across his chest and leans back on his heels.

“Depends on who's asking.” Harry says, slightly smirking at Zayn.

“Me. I'm asking.” Zayn says with finality.

Harry smiles at Zayn, still surveying Zayn's stance in a curious way.

“And dare I ask why an ice cream-scooper would want to join a big, bad gang?” Harry asks, his demeanor completely changed from how he usually is in the shop.

Zayn swallows and looks down to the floor, “Well, my family's not in the best place financially. I just want to find any way that I could to help them out. Even at my own risk.” he shyly explains.

Zayn isn't able to see Harry soften completely as his view is completely made up of the floor. Harry places both of his hands on Zayn's shoulders, forcing Zayn to look up at him. Harry is giving him the most encouraging smile that he can.

“Ask Barbara how to get to my pent, she knows. She's probably not coming back for a while, so I should get going. Be there by 8 tonight. See ya, Zayn.” Harry says, then turns around and leaves.

And with that, he is gone. Zayn has to physically sit himself down, the weight of what just happened suddenly pushing down onto him. He might be able to finally get his mother, father, and sisters out of this cat and mouse game of paying off loans. 

Zayn lets a small smile grows on his face as new hope grows in him. This could be the start of something great.

The owner does end up knowing where Harry's penthouse is, she even writes out the directions for Zayn since she knows that he would most likely walk there. Zayn leaves his job with a thumbs-up from Barbara and enough time to go home and change.

Zayn changes into his best pair of skinny jeans and throws on all black, from the leather jacket down to the leather boots. He attempts to style his jet-black hair into a quiff, kind of succeeding in a spiky way. Zayn gives himself one more confidence boost in front of the mirror before grabbing his phone and directions and leaving his home. He has to leap out of his window, only the first floor, as to not worry his parents any further. 

Zayn makes his way downtown by sneaking into the metro using a card that he found on the ground weeks ago. It still works somehow, so then Zayn quickly makes it to the tall building described in Barbara's cursive hand-writing. The building is characteristically daunting, only adding to Zayn's anxiety.

Zayn makes his way through the double-doors and into the main lobby. He almost falls over with the force of pure extravagance in the air. Even the garbage in this place looks more expensive than Zayn's whole house. Zayn ducks out of the way as men in business suits hurry on through and couples dressed to the nines mosey around.

Zayn looks down at the paper and sees that there is a floor number and a word scribbled beside it. Zayn makes his way to the man just outside of the elevator, his posture screaming posh.

“Um..excuse me?” Zayn asks timidly.

The man only ignores him, staring ahead with his hands behind his back. Zayn looks around himself, maybe the man just didn't hear him.

“Excuse me.” Zayn says with more confidence.

The man continues to completely ignore his existence. Zayn is downright insulted by now. Plus, to just add insult to injury, he kindly assists a young couple into the elevator and presses the right floor for them. Zayn is livid.

The elevator dings, saying that the couple have reached their destination. Zayn decides to take initiative and presses for the elevator to come to him. This definitely grabs his attention.

“And what do you think you're doing?” he asks, the kindness he showed to the employees completely gone.

“Aren't you supposed to call me sir?” Zayn questions.

“Not with you dressed like that. What business do you have here?” he inquires, his whole stance almost ready to take Zayn down.

“I am going up to floor 64, actually.” Zayn tells him.

“You are going to need a password for that floor, actually.” the man mimics Zayn, as if he's won the argument. 

“Nullibicity” Zayn reads off of the paper, trying his best to smoothly read the odd word.

His answer must be correct since the man takes a step back, staring at Zayn in slight shock. He adjusts his stance to a more proper appearance and places his hands behind his back. The elevator dings open and Zayn looks to the man.

“Off to floor 64, sir. Have a great day.” he says politely, pressing the button to the correct floor.

Zayn is miffed as he watches the elevator door close behind himself, the sight of the strange employee disappears. If there is any indication to how posh this place is, the elevator is one of them.

The elevator back wall is made up entirely of mirrors with a small chandelier adorning the painted ceiling. Zayn watches as the counter on top of the doors slowly rises to the high number. There is a small ding as the correct floor is reached and the doors slide open.

Zayn steps out of the elevator to be greeted by a short, small hallway leading to a set of double doors. Zayn cautiously walks along the plush carpeting toward the doors, his legs slightly shaking in anticipation. 

He makes it to the doors and wipes the sweat off of his hands and onto his jeans. Zayn ever so slowly lifts up a finger and presses the button on the side. The sounds of bells could be heard through the door, soon followed by the sound of feet walking toward the door. Zayn is not nearly as prepared as he thought he was when the doors open in front of him.

“Hello, Mr. Malik. You are expected in the sitting area.” a man in a suit informs Zayn.

Zayn politely nods and walks in so that the doors can be shut. He doesn't have time to admire the many features of the lavish place, as he is rushed to change into slippers and follow the man. Zayn obediently follows him through the entry way and into the sitting area.

Harry is sitting on the couch, a glass of red wine in his hand. There are two other guys in the room as well. One who is shorter and blonde, and another man who is very attractive. Zayn keeps his attention off of the attractive one so to not make a bad impression. His fate is hanging in the balance here.

“Ah, Zayn! So glad you could make it. Don't just stand there. Come sit down.” Harry welcomes him, patting the seat next to him on the couch.

Zayn shyly walks over and sits a polite amount of space away from Harry. Both Harry and the blonde one are smiling at Zayn, but the other man in the room is giving Zayn some type of stare than Zayn translates into a glare. 

“Well then, I see that you got here right on time. That is a good impression to make on us. God knows that Liam hates people that are late. Right Liam?” Harry says conversationally, turning to the other guy.

When he doesn't respond, everyone's attention is on him. While his own attention is completely focused on Zayn, making Zayn a tad bit uncomfortable.

“Liam? Earth to Liam.” Harry says jokingly.

“Huh?” Liam says, completely confused. 

“Oh, yeah. Late, bad.” he says.

“Ookay then. While caveman Liam over there tries to form a sentence, why don't you tell all of us why you would want in?” Harry suggests, throwing odd looks to Liam.

“Oh, um, okay.” Zayn stutters out, clearing his throat, “Well I guess I just want to help out my family as best I can. They are not in the best situation right now and I know that if we don't pay rent this month we will definitely be kicked out onto the streets. My dad can't seem to find a job will take him and my mom can't leave the house too much with all of my sisters at home. I know that I'm not doing well enough in school to get a full-ride anywhere, so I need to start helping them make money now. I know that they don't want me to worry, I mean, if it was up to them I would never even know about our money struggles. But I do know and I want to help them best that I can.” Zayn explains staring at his hands.

When Zayn looks up, Harry is giving him a wide grin. The blonde one is also smiling at him in a very encouraging way.

“Thank you, Zayn. Niall and I are going to go have a small talk. Liam, why don't you keep him company while we do that.” Harry says, throwing a look to Liam.

Liam just nods slowly, not taking his eyes off of Zayn. Harry and Niall both get up, just leaving the two of them alone. The tension in the air is way too thick, and Zayn wonders what he has done to make this man glare at him so much. He has to break the tension in the room somehow.

“Is that a Batman shirt? I love Batman.” Zayn says shyly.

Liam looks up to Zayn's eyes then down to his own shirt then back to Zayn's eyes. He appears to be blushing completely at the compliment.

“Yeah. He's me hero.” Liam admits shyly.

Zayn smiles at him. 

“I'm more of a Superman guy myself. But, to each his own.” Zayn says confidently.

They are both smiling at each other now, completely entranced in one another. Zayn can't explain how, but he just sees utter perfection in front of him. From the plump lips, the kind eyes, and the cute moles, to the tight t-shirt and wavy brown hair.

“Well it seems that Zayn will be well welcomed, then.” Harry interrupts their moment.

Both Zayn and Liam are blushing at this, avoiding eye contact. It turns out that Zayn is allowed in, much to his own joy. 

They spend quite a bit of time talking about when and where he will go and what he will be doing. He has been assigned as an assistant associate. In simple speak, he just helps Niall with talking to people. Even though Zayn isn't the social type, he has been assured that a nice face to look at would be fine. Niall ends up being really kind and funny. Zayn already feels secure with them.

“Harry can pick you up tomorrow, since you don't have classes, and drive you to our hangout. We can give you more of a run-down then. Until then, here's something like a down payment for you.” Niall explains, handing a small bag to Zayn.

Zayn goes to open the bag, but is stopped by Harry.

“We want you to wait until you're home to open it. Just make sure you get home safely, in fact, let Liam walk you home.” Harry says.

Liam steps forward with the same blush on his cheeks that he's had all evening. Zayn just nods and bids the two others good-bye before leaving with Liam. 

Liam ends up being a perfect gentleman, the entire walk out of the lobby with his hand on Zayn's lower back. The man outside of the elevator just gives Zayn a look of impressiveness and they are on their way out. The other patrons don't run into Zayn this time, some of them even stare at him as if he is one to gossip about.

Even after they leave the building, Liam' hand doesn't leave Zayn's lower back. Zayn doesn't want to mention it since he rather likes it. Instead, he talks comic books with Liam, who ends up liking them just as much as Zayn.

They talk animatedly and have small debates on who is better the whole way to Zayn's home. Zayn turns down all of Liam's suggestions for a taxi, wanting to spend more time with him. 

They talk so much that Zayn doesn't even notice when they have reached his home, his feet just moving on their own accord. They stop in front of Zayn's complex, Zayn will have to sneak back in through his own window. 

“This is my stop.” Zayn says to Liam, turning his body toward him.

“I guess it is, although, I have to admit that this trip was too short for my liking.” Liam says with conviction, both of their confidence grew as the night went on.

“Me too.” Zayn whispers back.

“I'll see you tomorrow, then. Sleep well tonight, Zayn.” Liam says, reaching out as if he is going to do something.

He pulls back and just smiles at Zayn, much to Zayn's dismay.

“You too, Liam.” Zayn says.

They part ways and Zayn climbs back into his own window. He almost drops to his knees when he does open the bag. The amount of money in it is insane and Zayn knows that it is plenty to pay for their rent.

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“And you just stayed with them?” Louis asks, leaning forward.

“Yeah, I ended up being pretty good at talking to people with Niall. They paid me well and I was able to by my family a new flat. Mom thought that I was selling myself, Dad thought that I was selling drugs. I would just tell them that I was an Assistant Associate at RR and to call Mr. Styles if they had any questions.” Zayn tells Louis.

“But, what about Liam? Why did you leave?” Louis asks confusedly.

Zayn lets out a sigh, “That's a story for another time. Just know that I don't want you to get involved. It's not that I don't trust you. It's that I don't trust them.” he explains.

Louis has to let this all sink in. He knew that Zayn was doing something fishy, but he could have never imagined him getting involved with a gang. He also believes Zayn, so he doesn't know if he should work for them anymore. Zayn must have left for a good reason. 

“You're right, Zayn. I won't be with them anymore.” Louis promises, leaning on Zayn again.

“Thank you, babes.” Zayn says, leaning back with Louis.

They both hold each other as nature is both still and alive around them. The birds are chirping and small frogs leap on the pond. The sky is clear while the sun starts to go down and their tummies rumble a bit. 

“Now, why don't we eat some of this grub that I brought. And no food fights for you, mister.” Zayn points a finger at Louis.

Louis giggles and helps Zayn open the basket he brought to reveal an array of fruits and sandwiches. Louis just hopes that Harry won't mind his leave from work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...so about updates. I do at least once every two weeks at the least. Just because I personally don't enjoy waiting for an update only for it to never come. So, I'll try my best. But keep expectations low.  
> On a side note, I have the plot of this story really planned out. So writing should become more fluid and easy.   
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is jamesmall if you want to message me.


	14. Heartbreak creates Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School Stress Outside of School Stress Here no-Stress  
> I kind of like it here

Louis and Zayn stay out for longer than planned. Zayn even helps Louis write out a note of leave, something that he can give them so that he doesn't have to deal with their reactions in first person. He knows that he shouldn't listen to Zayn so easily, but it is so so hard not to. 

All throughout Louis' life, he was told what to do. How to take care of his sisters, how to be the captain of the footie team, how he should plan his future. But then, Zayn left, and nobody told him what to do. He went on a massive road trip on his own, fifty percent of it in clubs. He went and lived with Stan. He even got tattoos on his own. 

But, Louis doesn't like it anymore. He doesn't enjoy the feeling of fending for himself, it feels...lonely. Louis spent all of this time, on the road, in complete solitude. He would drive for hours, ending up in countries he didn't think he would ever travel to, the only thing stopping him where the lightly-handled border control. He would seek comfort in the crowds of clubs, the warmth of motel beds, and the coziness of a blanket around him while he drives along the countryside. 

His loneliness became too much, he had to come back and be with the people that he knows and loves again. He vowed to call his mom every night, he moved in with one of his childhood friends, he facetimes his sisters all of the time now, and Zayn was just the icing on the cake. 

Louis is now completely surrounded by the people he knows and loves. Okay, so maybe he forgets to call his mum, maybe he and Stan aren't talking right now, and maybe Lottie and Fizzy are being too rude for his tastes. But Louis will be damned before he loses Zayn again. So, he just wants to follow what Zayn says.

Louis will miss Harry, and Niall, and Liam, and a little bit of Ed, but he has only known them for a small amount of time. Louis knew that the fantasy that is Harry Styles can only go on for so long. There is no way that Harry could like Louis so much so quickly. But, it was still nice to fantasize.

Louis knows that he must move on, find a job, and look back on the good memories that these boys have given him. It was a bit unrealistic of Louis to think that he would fit into their lifestyle that easily.

“Ready to go?” Zayn's voice pulls Louis out of his head.

Louis nods and smiles at Zayn, the light of his phone being the only source of light for them. The stars sparkling above them remind Louis too much of his last date with Harry, many things have been ruined by Harry.

“I'll just call Niall and have him bring my stuff with him.” Louis explains, opening his contacts.

Zayn has put his arm around Louis' shoulders, keeping both of them warm as the air bites around them in wisps of chilly air. Louis quickly calls Niall and instructs him to bring his clothes. Niall agrees, the obedient Irishman that he is, and promises to not take long.

Louis and Zayn start to make their way away from the lake. The fireflies float around them and the crickets are chirping beneath their feet. Louis can't help the giggle that escape him each time Zayn almost trips over a root. 

They eventually make it out of the brush, seemingly taking forever, just in time for Niall to pull up. When Louis looks back to say good-bye to Zayn, he finds that he has disappeared. Strange.

Louis clutches the note that he and Zayn wrote tightly to his chest and enters into the car. It is a closed-roof car this time, still vintage though. Louis can see a small duffle bag behind him most likely containing his clothes.

Niall takes off, starting up on a conversation about football that gets both of them heated. Louis is laughing halfway through the drive at Niall's logic, realizing that he won't have these talks with Niall anymore. Louis' mood changes slightly, having to remind himself how dangerous it is to stay within their business. Niall, bless his heart, doesn't comment on it.

They reach Louis' flat soon enough, too soon in Louis' opinion. Niall reaches back and hands the bag to Louis. Louis only feels more and more guilty as he sees the massive grin on Niall's face. 

“You should stay at our place more often, Lou. Had a blast we did.” Niall says happily.

Louis smiles and nods, not able to disagree. Louis doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to leave his little Irish boy, but he has to. For Zayn's safety, for Stan's safety, and especially for his own. Even though he knows that Harry would probably never let him get hurt.

Louis remembers the note he is holding. This is the only way that he would be able to tell them how he feels. He knows that if he told any of them (except maybe Ed) in person, that they would try to stop him and Louis' resolve would absolutely crumble. He wouldn't even finish his sentence before taking it back and brushing it all off as a joke. 

In the end, it's better for both parties if Louis just gets out of their way. He knows that some of them, especially Niall, have been missing out on what they're supposed to be doing just to be with Louis. It all just makes Louis sound like more a burden than ever.

“Here.” Louis finally says, holding out the folded up note.

Niall takes it hesitantly, “Thanks?” he comments, about to open it.

“Don't open it! Wait until you get home to open it. Promise you will?” Louis asks, his cutest face on show.

“Oh, yeah. Of course, Lou.” Niall promises curiously.

“Thank you. Good-night, Nialler.” Louis says, leaning in for a hug.

“See ya later, Lou!” Niall says, pulling Louis in for bone-crushing hug.

Louis giggles and mournfully nods his head. He makes his way out of the car and walks to the entrance of his flat. He opens the door in front of him and turns to wave at Niall. Niall happily waves back and drives off. 

Louis sighs as he watches him drive off. He walks into the flat, kicking the door shut behind him, and drops his duffle bag on the ground. He feels like a soldier coming home from war as Stan walks into the entry-way, a spoon sticking out of his mouth and pajama pants on his legs. 

There is still tension between them, Louis really wants to find out why, but Louis still walks over and gives his friend a hug. Stan subtly hugs Louis back, his arms wrapping around Louis' waist. While they are close, Louis decides that he should probably tell Stan.

“I'm unemployed.” Louis whispers sadly.

Stan pulls back from the hug, a frown surrounding the spoon as he shoots a curious look at Louis. Louis misses this.

“I'm no longer associated with Harry Styles.” Louis says, almost as if he is admitting a secret.

Louis barely has time to think as he is pulled back into a hug, this one much more enthusiastic than the last one. He can hear the slight whisper of “thank god” in his ear as Stan holds him close. They pull back eventually, the mood in the air significantly brightened from Stan. Louis is just going to ignore that.

“Lemme go change into more suitable clothing. We should match.” Louis states positively.

Stan pats him on the back, then heads back into the living room. Louis runs up the stairs, grabbing his bag to throw stuff into the hamper. He discovers that he clothes in there are already washed, though. Louis slips off his jeans, dropping his phone in the process. Louis also remembers to turn off his phone, since he knows that Niall should be back at the residence any minute.

Louis throws on his softest pair of jammie bottoms and runs downstairs. To his joy, Stan is watching old episodes of Breaking Bad. He needs something to distract him before the whole situation sets in. 

Louis hops onto the couch, successfully scaring Stan as he lands on his lap. They both just laugh it off and snuggle into each other, like old times. They watch as drug money is played around with on the screen in front of them. The distraction doesn't work too well, as soon enough Louis is wondering if Harry has ever dealt with drugs. Maybe that's how he has so much money. That would explain Ed's constant state of chill.

“Oh, yeah. Stan? Make sure to not open the door tomorrow unless you are expecting someone over.” Louis tells Stan, remembering that they know where he lives.

Stan just politely nods, “I don't have work tomorrow. A lad's day for us.” he says.

Louis smiles and cuddles in closer to his best lad. They continue to watch a chemistry teacher gone bad, Stan's commentary making Louis giggle throughout the whole thing. Louis wants to text Zayn, let him know that he did it. But he knows that he can't use his phone. 

Louis really does want to call his mum, though. He uses Stan's phone and they put it on speaker. Jay gushes as the boys are both in good spirits and seem to not 'have changed on little bit' since they were teenagers. They both laugh at this, hoping that she is joking since their teenage years where nothing but cringe-worthy. 

Louis ends the call eventually, his yawns interrupting his mother too often. He Stan bid each other a good night and head off to their respective rooms. Louis even starts to hum some of his favorite songs in hopes of keeping his mind occupied. Louis brushes his teeth all while humming bits of The Fray. The humming only distracts him for a bit before some of the songs he hums remind him of the songs that were played on his date with Harry.

Louis just climbs into bed eventually. He tries to look at the bright side of things. He can sleep in now, he doesn't have to wake up early for work. His skin color will return to normal, as when he is around Harry it always seems to be bright red. He won't have to worry about gaining weight from all of those baked goods, even though they were baked so good.

Louis' eyes start leaking on their own accord. Little tear drops are dotting Louis' pillow and Louis tries his best to just ignore it all. He doesn't deserve Harry. He's safe without Harry. Look at what happened to Zayn. He's better without them.

Louis keeps repeating these to himself until he lulls himself into sleep. He hopes for dreams of Harry.

 

His dreams don't last long, as only three hours later, there is a loud pounding on their front door. Louis is woken up abruptly as the sounds of pounding against wood resonate throughout the flat. Louis knows that it's Harry, or maybe Niall. 

Louis is a little scared as the thumping gets louder. He needs comfort. Louis gets out of bed, dragging his blanket with him, and makes his way toward Stan's room. Once Louis steps out of his room though, the sounds at the door are clearer. He can hear the sounds of shouting.

“Louis!! Open the door! I know you can hear me, Louis! Where are you, babe?! Darling! I need you!” the sounds of the shouts can be heard all the way upstairs.

The shouts are too muffled for Louis to recognize the voice, but the pet-names help. Louis almost certainly knows that it's Harry out there, screaming at the top of his lungs. He also knows that if Harry wanted, he could also probably knock down their door. However, he is only knocking insistently.

Louis just covers his ears with the blanket and hurries his way into Stan's room. Stan seems to be expecting him, as when Louis walks in, Stan is sitting up on the bed with the covers open. Stan opens his arms and Louis hurries into the bed. Stan holds Louis closes and shushes him.

“It's okay. Just go to sleep. He'll leave soon, I promise.” Stan whispers reassurances into Louis' ear. 

As grateful as Louis is for it, he doesn't want to admit how much he doesn't want Harry to leave. While this whole situation is completely terrifying, Louis can't help but really want to go down and open the door for his poor Hazza. Louis just really wants the arms wrapped around him to be Harry's instead of Stan's 

Louis falls asleep soon enough, the constant pounding on the front door becoming rhythmic and lulling Louis back to sleep.

When Louis wakes up at a more appropriate time, he finds himself wrapped up in Stan. They have somehow managed into an intimate position, kind of spooning, that makes Louis just a bit uncomfortable. This a position for lovers, not too friends. Louis pulls himself out of Stan's arms and downstairs.

He knows that if he turns on his phone now, he should be alright. Harry would have gotten the message and hopefully not be calling anymore. Louis is completely guessing right now. He is just assuming that Harry is upset about him leaving. Harry could just be mad because Louis took a sweater of his when he took his clothes back. 

Louis looks around at the cereal that's up for grabs, but he doesn't think that he could stomach any food right now. He still feels both guilty and conflicted. He misses them already, but maybe he's just being irrational. Maybe it's the lack of communication. Even when Louis would have weekends away from them, Niall would constantly text him about random things and stay present without even being there.

Louis makes his way back upstairs and into his room. He walks over to his phone to turn it on. When he presses the power button, the phone clicks on and there are no notifications. Louis frowns, nobody must have missed him then.

It seems that right after Louis thinks that, his phone starts to vibrate from texts, missed calls, and voice mails. His phone vibrates continuously so Louis can't even open his phone to see the onslaught that is raging toward him. Louis sets his phone down, still vibrating, and decides that he should at least make himself look put together. 

Louis changes his pants, brushes his teeth, and even washes his face. He walks back to his phone right as it stops vibrating. Louis hesitantly lifts up the screen and turns it on.

104 NEW TEXT MESSAGES  
55 MISSED CALLS  
30 VOICE MAILS 

Louis stares in shock at the high numbers of attempts from people to contact him. Louis quickly check through his missed calls, to make sure that no one called him and left a voice mail that wasn't involved. He does find two missed calls from Zayn and Ed, plus a text from each. Zayn was only checking in and Ed left a simple, “don't regret this” in text.

Louis avoided the 68 texts and 34 calls and 18 voice mails from Harry, they would have to save for a later time. He does look through all of the texts from Niall along to listen to all of his angry voice mails. Niall is not happy with Louis' decision, each voice mail, each text, just becoming more depressing and more self-deprecating as Niall starts to blame himself. Louis wants nothing more than to go comfort his friend. Liam also left a few voice mails and texts, all sounding like a disappointment parent that wanted to give him another chance to make the right choice. 

The whole situation is a little shocking to Louis. He had barely known these people for a few months, he had known Zayn since they were kids. Why does he feel more affected by his separation from the boys, not to even mention Harry, than when Zayn skipped town and headed for the States? 

Louis has to lie down in his bed for a bit, he may or may not be crying again. My god, it's all so melodramatic. Louis has had breakups before. But is this really a breakup? Harry never did say that they were dating, maybe they never were. Louis only cries more as he thinks about all of the times he spent alongside Harry, he slept with him for god's sake! 

Louis is conflicted in the most confusing ways, this is a mess. Harry is broken, Niall is mad, Liam is disappointed, Ed is...there, Stan is strangely excited, and Zayn is just looking out for him. Louis can't deal with all of this. He needs to get away. He needs to go home. Not this home, home home. With his mum and sisters and brother and step-father where he knows that he can breathe easy.

Louis thinks about it and decides that going back home for a bit would be a very good decision. He quickly calls home, they love the idea even though Louis can hear Jay's concern through the phone, and he gets packing.

Louis stuffs his essentials and a few extra t-shirts into a back pack and calls for a cab, he is not driving all way to Doncaster from London in his current state. Louis knows that his cheeks are still red from crying and his eyes must not be much better, but he sucks it up and shouts to Stan of his departure before heading outside. 

Louis heaves in the fresh air, his mind clearing slightly as he steps down toward the waiting cab. Louis climbs into the back of the cab, thanking the queen of England for the lack of talkative cab drivers that exist. The only question asked is the location and then they sit in silence. Louis needs to find a way to occupy his time for three hours.

He manages to spend a full hour playing games on his phone and texting Zayn about nothing. That soon becomes too boring. Louis then finds fascination in the zipper of his jeans, but that doesn't last longer. Louis thinks about caving in and listening and going through Harry's messages, but he stops himself.

Louis makes it another hour before he can't stand it anymore and opens his texts. He sees the last text and his heart almost breaks on the spot. There are three words, just three words that shatter Louis' entire being. “You left me”, short and simple.

Louis scrolls back to the start of this wreckage and almost immediately wishes that he hadn't. Harry's texts start off with innocent confusion, this must have been right after he read the note. The texts then turn into anger, accusing Louis of breaking his heart and leaving him. From there, the texts slowly bleed into desperation and pleading. Louis starts to cry, snotty nose and everything, as he scrolls through the messages.

He makes it all the way through them, his vision blurring from all of the tears in his eyes. Louis still has a good while left of this drive, he has to listen to at least one of the voice mails. Louis opens up the phone app and finds the longest voice mail left by Harry. He puts it as close to his ear as he can, and listens.

“Umm...hey Lou. It's...Harry. This could be more fourth message, this could be my twentieth. Either way, it's pretty sad. But...I'm pretty sad too. So...it kind of fits, you know? I'm sorry. No I'm not. Yes I am. I don't know. Louis, I honestly don't know how to feel. I don't know what to say. I didn't write anything down for this, but you did write stuff down for me. So...I actually want to read it to you, out loud. Just in case you forgot what you left me.” Harry can be heard clearing his throat as the sound of crinkling paper is in the background.

“ _Dear Hazza_ , can't believe you called me that in a letter, _you might be pretty confused with this note being given to you. I can promise, I will explain as much as I can. To start, I guess, I have to quit my job at the bakery, I know that I should hand in a formal letter and shit, but this should suffice_. You're such an idiot. _While I am quitting the bakery, I would also like to quit you. I don't want to sound like I'm quoting Broke-Back Mountain, but it's the best that I could do. I am leaving you, Niall, Liam, Ed, and anyone else associated with your business. This is because I fear for my own safety. I know you said you would protect me, which I absolutely would, but I have recently spoken with someone who has been associated with you guys in the past. From what he says, you guys let him get hurt pretty bad_. Now Louis, I'm not going to skate around the topic. I know you're talking about Zayn. This might surprise you, but I knew that Zayn was back in town before you did. Zayn might have left Liam, but he didn't leave me. He didn't leave me for one reason, and that reason is you. I could go on and continue reading this piece of paper, but I can only take so much heartbreak in one day. I know now that you turned off your phone because you knew that I would call. I'll be swinging by your flat later to check up on you, make sure that you are unhurt. Because, while I promise that you will always be protected, I can't keep that promise when you aren't around me. I'd hate to say this Louis, but there are people in my business who know who you are. I tried my best to keep you under wraps and away from all of this, but I can only do so much. I'll swing by later, please answer so that I can explain in person more. Please, Louis. For us. I...I really like you Louis and I don't want to lose you this quickly.” the sound of a click can be heard as Harry hung up.

Louis is filled with so many emotions, questions, and general messy things right now. He feels horrible as he heard Harry's voice crack and heard obvious sniffles from crying. Louis has never seen nor heard of Harry crying. He is also frustrated, Harry wasn't going to do anything to Louis if he opened the door last night. He was just too scared and judged Harry too quickly to think that he wouldn't act abrasively. Louis is so sad. So so sad, he just wants everything to go back. But he knows that it can't. Not with Zayn in the picture.

Also, how does Harry know about Zayn? Why on Earth did Zayn not mention that he and Harry still talk? And if they do, why did Zayn warn Louis off of being with him? It's all too much information and too little, Louis wants answers and he wants to know nothing. He is stuck in a massive web of confusion, fear, and depression. There is no escaping and the web only gets more complex.

Louis is just grateful as the cab driver says nothing while Louis cries and cries in the back seat. 

He will get to Doncaster in no time, then he will be able to step back and think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am seriously thinking about looking for a beta for my works. I have tons of works that I am mid-way through, and I just think that they look way too messy. I don't know.   
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is jamesmall if you want to message me.


	15. Family Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!!! Soz for the amount of time that took. Enjoy the chapter!

Louis' cab pulled up in front of the most familiar house. Louis gets out of the cab, politely handing the exact amount of change into the driver's hand, and breathes in the homely air. He knows that there is no actual difference between in the air, but the air feels less stuffy when he's out of London.

Louis holds onto the shoulder straps of his backpack and heads toward the front door of his home. He sees small flower beds obviously planted by his mother probably with the help of his siblings. The situation makes Louis smile, he can't wait to spend time with them again.

Louis takes a deep breath and knocks on his own front door. He can hear the small pattering of feet running to the door. The door is soon opened with Lottie standing behind it with Ernest on her hip.

"Louis!" is all the warning he gets before his legs are attacked by two of the girls and soon followed by a little Doris. Lottie is smiling at the scene and Ernest seems content to just sit back and watch.

"Why did you knock? This is still your home you know. You're an idiot." Lottie says before turning around and walking into the house.

Guess that's the only hello he'll get from her. The twins at his legs tug on his legs, leading him into the house. They are both babbling about school and a little bit about boys. Oh dear. They can't be into boys yet, they aren't allowed to grow up.

Louis says just this and the twins are giggling at his sides. They both lead him into the kitchen, where Jay is cooking up a storm. Louis' stomach grumbles in reaction, grabbing her attention.

“Come help me set up the table, we're having dinner soon.” Jay instructs Louis, putting him to work before he even puts his bag down.

Louis just laughs and tosses his bag quickly aside. He grabs the plates and clicks right back into the natural flow of the Deakin family. He has missed them all.

Soon enough, the table is set and everyone is sitting around enjoying their meals. Louis helps to feed Doris while his mum feeds Ernest. They chatter around the table, Louis talks about London, Lottie talks about her friends, Fizzy even speaks up about her awesome grades.

Louis smiles as his family talks together and no one brings up the reason for Louis' sudden visit. Their lack of questioning is both comforting and concerning. Since they won't talk about it now, he will probably get an earful from his mother later. He enjoys the dinner nonetheless, he even helps the girls clean up afterwards. Much to the shock if his mother. 

“Louis?” Jay asks sweetly, all of the girls and boy are in their rooms, Dan is tucking in the twins.

“Yes, mother?” Louis answers playfully.

“Come here.” she beckons him over to the couch with open arms.

Louis calmly walks over to his mother, sitting down on the couch. Almost as if a motherly spell hits him, Louis starts crying as soon as he sits. Jay just coos and pulls him in for a tight hug. Louis lets the tears stream down his cheeks as his mother comforts him through it with soft caresses and kind words. She always knows the right thing to say.

Louis' eyes dry up eventually and a pair of teacups have magically appeared in front of them, most likely from Dan. Louis knew that he was a good choice. 

They both drink their cups and practically inhale the tea. Jay silently waits for Louis to explain, and he does. He excludes some of the big things, like Zayn's name and what Harry and his friends actually do for a living. He just says that they're dangerous and that he was advised against by a friend.

“And you just up and left him like that? Oh Lou...you never made the best decisions quickly. You sway to easily based on one person's opinion.” Jay explains calmly.

Louis looks down in shame at her words. He has been making too many big decisions too quickly as of late. He didn't even question moving in with Stan, he just saw the opportunity and jumped right in. He has always been too rash with everything. He is such a pushover.

“I know. I just...I need someone to help me make my decisions with me. I need a rock, you know?” Louis says.

“You don't think that maybe that boy could be your rock? From what I've heard, he sounds amazing. I still want to meet him by the way. But, you sounded so much happier during your phone calls after you met him. Just saying.” Jay suggests before taking a sip of her tea.

Louis sighs at this, his mother is only stating the obvious as it stares back at him right in the eyes. Louis just needs to take his chance at happiness by the horns and keep it. He just...can't for some reason. Something is holding him back. He just can't figure out what.

“How about this. You stay here, distract yourself. Then, after four days, yes four days, you will go back with a plan in mind. You will keep to that plan and never regret your decision. But, for now, I want your mind off of it. Lottie wants to go shopping tomorrow, why don't you take her?” Jay instructs.

Louis nods and hugs his mum one more time before going off to sleep in his old bed. His room is almost the same as it was years ago. He still can even see the sharpie marks left by him and Zayn when they were pretending to tattoo each other with it. 

Louis smiles at the memories stored in this room and quickly changes into joggers. He slides under the covers and makes himself comfortable. Sleep comes easy as the quiet chatter between his mother and step-father filter through the door.

╫╫╫╫╫╫

Louis awakes to the sounds of cartoon noises and loud chatter soon followed by shushing. Louis smiles and gets out of bed as he hears Lottie tell of her sisters for being too loud. He can just tell that she's gotten more bossy over the years, and he misses it all.

Louis saunters down into the family room, the sight of Sponge-bob greets him as his little sisters giggle on the couch. The other twins must still be sleeping and he can hear the sizzling of Jay cooking breakfast. Lottie is the first to notice Louis. 

“See, you guys! You all woke him up! Anyway, eat breakfast quickly Louis. We need to head to the shops before all of the girls from my school do. I don't want to get there after all of the good stuff is sold.” Lottie explains quickly to Louis. 

Louis obediently salutes to her and marches into the kitchen. Jay is already handing him a plate of eggs and bacon. Louis gratefully takes the plate and sits to eat it all.

“Lottie has already eaten, she is waiting for you. Though she may not show it, I can promise you that she is excited to spend time with you.” Jay reassures Louis. 

Louis smiles at this, he is so excited to spend some quality time with his baby sis. She and him haven't talked in ages and Louis needs to be in the know. Louis quickly shovels down the food and runs up into his room. He throws on a pair of shorts with a hoodie and puts on some cologne to cover the scent of his unwashed self.

Louis runs downstairs and snags the pair of keys to his mother's car and his turned-off phone. Lottie is waiting by the door on her phone, obviously busy with some form of social media. 

“Be safe out there, you two!” Jay yells to them jokingly.

Louis laughs and waves to her while Lottie just rolls her eyes. They exit the house and hop into the smaller car, parked right next to the van. Louis quickly plugs in his phone and turns it over to avoid looking at it while driving. They buckle up and they are on their way.

“So...Lottie.” Louis starts.

“So, Louis.” she replies.

“What's new with you?” Louis attempts at starting conversation.

“Not nearly as much as there is with you. I heard that you have a sugar daddy, now.” she replies, still staring at her phone.

Louis starts coughing as he chokes on his own spit.

“Lottie! How do you know those words!” Louis accuses her.

“Louis, I'm sixteen not six. I just heard that you have been hanging out at your boyfriend's mansion.” Lottie states dismissively.

“First of all, don't eavesdrop on mum's and my conversations. Secondly, he is not my boyfriend. Thirdly, I do not have a sugar daddy.” Louis defends with finality.

“Okay, whatever you say.” she replies distractedly.

“Anyway, I'm going to stop at the bank before we shop. I'm going to treat you.” Louis explains, pulling into the parking lot of the bank.

This gets Lottie to sit up in her seat and look away from her phone. They both climb out of the car, Louis grabbing his now, charged phone. They mosey into the building, Louis gives a small cheer at the sight of only two people in line. 

They patiently wait in line, Louis' quiet commentary on the appearance of the people near them make Lottie giggle and Louis' heart grows. They soon arrive at the tall counter, the woman behind the glass looking intimidating for a bank teller.

“Umm..hello.” Louis greets politely.

“Are you taking out or putting in?” she asks impolitely.

“I..um..would like to check on my balance first.” Louis asks politely, despite the woman's behavior.

“Yes. ID and pass code below.” she replies. 

Louis quickly slides over his ID and types his pass code into the keypad below. Lottie is glaring at the rude woman, making Louis feel a bit better.

“Tomlinson, Louis?” she says.

“Yep, that's me.” Louis states.

“Your account balance is on the screen below.” she says.

Louis smiles politely and checks the screen below. The number that flashes below him makes Louis step back. This is his spending account. Just last week, he only had about ₤300 in his account.

“Um, I think there's a problem with my balance. I did not put the money into this account.” Louis explains in confusion.

“We don't lie here, Mr. Tomlinson. It says here that your account had a deposit yesterday from your joint owner.” she explains as if Louis is stupid.

Louis knows that the only other person that can access his bank account is Zayn. He gave him access when he first made the account for safety, but he knows that Zayn would never take from it. 

He suddenly remembers that he just turned on his phone. He needs to call Zayn. Louis pulls out his phone, ignoring Lottie's smug face next to him, and notices that he has a text from Niall.

'Hey Lou! Harry gained access to your bank account, hope you don't mind! He says that he wants to help you out or some bullshit, I don't know. I'm still mad at you, but you obviously need to just go out and rejuvinate. We are definitely having a talk when you come home again, whether you like it or not. Spend it loosely Louis.' the text reads.

Lottie is peaking from over Louis' shoulder and her smirk only grows.

“I don't have a sugar daddy, you said. Pfft. Then how come you can now pay for our family's bills for the next year.” Lottie teases.

Louis just turns pink and turns back to the annoyed lady at the counter. He can't give back the money, that would just insult Harry. Despite his absolute distaste with using others money for his own enjoyment, he knows that he should spend the money and spoil his little sister. Louis sends an angry emoji to Niall and turns back to the lady.

“I apologize, that is the correct amount. May I take out some cash?” Louis asks, politely as he can muster.

“Yes, you may make a withdrawal.” she answers condescendingly.

Louis bites his tongue and gives his best fake smile for her. She is incredibly rude for a bank teller. Although, Louis would probably be the same this early. She hands over the cash to Louis, since Louis cannot be trusted with a card of any importance he only uses cash, and they are on their way.

Louis stuffs the money into his wallet, he only took out a few thousand, but his back pocket is significantly heavier. Lottie is walking behind Louis to the car, a small smirk on her face still. They climb into the vehicle and Louis starts it back up. 

“Not a word, young missy.” Louis says before Lottie can even open her mouth.

Lottie just grins bigger and stares back down at her phone. Louis grumpily drives to the nice strip mall, the weight of his wallet sitting heavy underneath his bum. He is driving to the strip of fancy stores closer to the downtown area of Doncaster. Despite the suburbs surrounding them, the stores manage to bring a plethora of high-paying customers willing to buy the ridiculously-expensive clothing sold for their big names. 

Louis pulls into a parking spot and gets out of the car with Lottie in tow, she is blatantly taking pictures while she walks. Louis waits for her as she walks to the mall, waiting to see which store she wants to visit. Now, Louis is a gay man, a proud one at that. But he doesn't follow the stereotype of knowing fashion. He just throws whatever on. So, he has no idea where they are going.

Lottie leads him past the stores, her confident strides amaze Louis as she walks straight toward the exact store she wants. Louis just ambles behind like a lost troll, now he knows how his mum always felt when she dragged her young daughters into a new world of fashion. She and Louis aren't the fashion type, they're more of the comfort type.

“We have to splurge with your new...significant others cash. That definitely means that you are taking me into Louis Vuitton and we are getting the ankle boots. They just came in sleek black!” Lottie explains while she drags Louis into the store.

The floor is light wood, shiny enough that Louis can see his own confused face looking back, and the walls are glistening white with glass cases dotting the floor and white shelves of shoes on the walls. There are fashionable men and women standing around within the store, all of them taller than Louis could hope to be. 

Lottie confidently struts up to a young woman in a cheetah-coat and they soon strike up a conversation. Louis is left to sit on one of the plush seat-thingies next to a tall mannequin. Louis doesn't like this store. It has prejudice against short people.

Lottie disappears with the woman, probably to look at shoes or something, and Louis is left to sit and play on his phone. Louis decides to text some of the people who he hasn't spoken to in a while. He texts with Zayn for a bit, promising to invite him over for a family dinner. He also texts Stan real quick, updating him on his current situation without mentioning Harry, he blames his visit as being homesick. He also has to play some of his apps, his high scores need revamping. 

“Louis?” Lottie calls from across the store.

Louis sets down his phone and heads over toward Lottie. She is standing in front a tall mirror with the tall woman next to her. Everything is just so tall. 

“What do you think of the boots?” she asks as she stares down at the black shoes on her feet.

Louis is in shock that she is asking his opinion. As nice as it is that she wants to know how he feels about her shoes, he honestly doesn't care. 

“They look great, love. You should definitely get them.” Louis explains as Lottie starts to take off the shoes.

Lottie smiles up at him from her seat and the tall woman walks away from them with a small, “name's Kristen” over her shoulder, her job seems to be done. Louis smiles back at his little sister, happy that he can share a little bit of her passions. Louis then feels a small tap on his bicep.

“Sir? You left your phone. It says that you got a text from Har-” he voice is cut off, forcing Louis to turn around and see.

Louis turns to see a tall man with a high quiff and a long coat holding his phone. He is staring down at it in shock. Louis wants his phone back, but he also wants to know what's so shocking about some text he received. It's not like he has any celebrities in his phone. 

Louis clears his throat, pulling the man out of his stupor. The man hurriedly gives Louis his phone with an apology. Louis quickly checks his phone and sees that there is one text from Harry, 

“Spend it all, babe. If you run out, I'll just put more in. You deserve it”

the text punctuated with a heart. Louis has no time to dwell on the fact that Harry thinks that he is deserving after what he has done, as the man appears to be waiting for him. Louis pockets his phone and looks at the man.

“Was that...Harry Styles?” he asks timidley.

“That is what the contact says.” Louis replies quickly, crossing his arms.

Lottie is completely forgotten as Louis is too busy having a conversation.

“I...know of a Harry Styles. I think it might be the same one. Do you think you could...show me a picture of him?” the man asks, his excitement creepily showing.

“Um...sure.” Louis answers doubtfully.

Louis pulls his phone back out and goes into his pictures. He scrolls through, trying to find a recognizable picture of Harry, while giving the man side-eye. He finds a selfie that Harry took on his phone at one point. His face is smiling and only the top collar of his black-button can be seen below his neck, modest enough.

“Here you go.” Louis shows the man the picture.

The squeal that comes out the man in inhumane. Louis has squealed over Harry, but this is a whole new level. Louis awkwardly stands there with the picture up as the man calls other workers over to see the picture. More excited reactions occur and Louis and Lottie are stuck confused. 

“Umm..do you guys know him?” Louis asks, a little freaked out by all of these beautiful, tall people surrounding him.

“Anybody who knows fashion knows Harry Styles. He's practically become an icon!” the one woman says to Louis, as if this is a fact that Louis is foolish for not knowing. 

Louis is just aghast as the people in front of him start praising Harry's fashion and start discussing events they've seen him at. That's when the original man seems to remember that Louis is there.

“Wait, how do you know Harry?” he asks.

This makes all of the workers stop talking and they all turn to Louis. And the pressure is on. Louis can almost feel sweat trickle down his temple as all of their eyes are right on him. He needs to think of something simple fast.

“We met at my work. He's really nice and I was new in London so he offered me a tour.” Louis quickly explains, placing his hands outward to give the appearance of truth.

The group all seem to believe him as they soon go into cheers of congratulations for his meeting with the Harry Styles. Some of them even shaking his hand, as if he has accomplished a great achievement in life. 

“I seem to have a bit of memory loss. Could you lovely people please explain the importance of Harry Styles?” Louis asks as politely and smoothly as he can.

“Let me tell you,” a taller woman starts, “Harry Styles is a fashion icon, really. Every event he goes to: premiers, fashion shows, charity matches, he is wearing his best. No one knows how he got his money, but we all know that he has plenty of it. He also seems to know quite a bit of female models, he always has one with him when he is out. Even if they aren't dating, Harry is always so charming. However, the interviewers are always too intimidated to ask him anything, he's just dragged onto the red carpet through association.”, she explains.

Louis just stares at her. He honestly shouldn't be surprised anymore. I mean, he knows that Harry has money. He has seen his house. But, he just never has seemed the glamorous type. Plus, Louis has never even heard of his name before. Although, he never heard of Shawn Min-something before and even his mum did. Louis just lives under a perpetual rock. 

Louis is suddenly jostled by the hands of his little sister pulling on his biceps.

“You know _that_ Harry Styles?!” she asks incredulously.

Louis just gives his best shrug. He doesn't want to shop anymore.

“We can talk about it later. Can we just buy your shoes?” Louis asks, having to speak up a bit over the small murmurs of the workers.

One would think that they have a job to do or something.

Lottie just nods dumbfound and follows Louis to the register. There is one man left at the register who is too busy scrolling through his phone to have noticed any of the hubbub that just happened. Louis clears his throat, grabbing the man's attention.

Louis quickly buys the boots using his credit card, trying his best to not look at the price, then he hightails it out of he store. Lottie is soon behind him, grabbing the bag and taking pictures of it or something. Louis slows so that Lottie can choose her next store and they can finish soon.

Shopping goes a lot quicker then. Lottie is eerily silent with Louis, probably waiting until later to talk to him. Louis is completely anxious for the inevitable talk that they are going to have about his boyfrien-friend. The talk they'll have about his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These whole past two weeks I've been performing as Mary Magdeline in Jesus Christ Superstar. I have had no time to post, but now I do! So, back to your regularly scheduled program! Plus, during our breaks in the show, my mind was just racing with ideas for this! I am itching to start writing one shots.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	16. Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an asshole who never updates anymore, have a chapter. 
> 
> I put a Shrek reference in there. If you find it, you get a gold star.

Lottie leads Louis out of their last store, both of their arms weighed down with many shopping bags. Louis ambles behind Lottie as she leads to Louis' car and then waits for him to unlock it. Louis sets the bags down and unlocks the car. Lottie crams all of the bags into the back seat before sliding into the passenger's side. Louis takes a deep breathe before climbing into the car.

They start to head back to the house, Lottie not on her phone like before. Louis' palms almost sweating in anticipation. Lottie takes a breathe, as if she is going to speak, and Louis' hands grip the wheel tighter.

“Why didn't you tell me that you are dating one of the hottest guys in Britain?” Lottie asks.

Louis turns his head slightly to her in confusion.

“You know who Harry is?” Louis asks back.

“Louis, if it hadn't been clarified in Louis Vuitton, almost everyone knows Harry. He's practically a household name. His looks aren't all that attract everyone, it's also the mystery. No one knows how he's raking in enough dough to casually travel the world and know almost every celebrity on a first name basis.” Lottie explains.

“Yeah probably because he is a gang member...” Louis mumbles.

“Huh?” Lottie asks.

“Nothing. And I said, Harry and I aren't dating.” Louis clarifies.

“Oh yeah, totally not dating. He just sends you large amounts of money and you just casually have personal pictures of him on your phone. Totally not dating or anything.” Lottie says, rolling her eyes.

Louis just sighs and decides not to comment, he has never had too much luck with arguing with the women in his family. He quietly drives the both of them back to their home, the silence leaving plenty of room for tension to rise.

By the time that Louis pulls into the driveway, he is leaping out of the car to get away from the stuffy air. Lottie just follows behind him with all of her bags on her arms, yet she is still able to cross her arms. Sass must really be a Tomlinson thing.

“We're home, mum!” Louis shouts into the kitchen, where Jay is cooking some type of chicken recipe. 

“Come in here and help out, Boobear.” Jay answers back.

Louis rolls his eyes at the nick-name, but ends up helping out as much as he can. While it may only include mixing the sauce, he helps as much as he can. They eventually finish the meal together and are ready to serve the family.

Louis is just finishing with putting plates onto the table when the doorbell rings.

“Can you get that, Louis?” Jay asks.

“Sure.” Louis heads over to the door.

Louis walks up to the front door and unlocks it. What he sees behind the door is not something that he expects entirely.

“Niall?” Louis asks incredulously.

Niall is standing there with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face. His clothes are uncharacteristically cheap-looking, just some sweats and a hoodie, and he has slight bags under his eyes. His eyes are blood-shot and he just looks like an angry wreck of a person. After a few moments of silence and Niall's glare, Louis starts to become uncomfortable.

“Um...Niall?” Louis asks again.

Their awkward moment is interrupted by Jay, of course.

“And who is this young man?” she asks politely, wiping her hands with a towel from over Louis' shoulder.

This seems to change Niall's demeanor. His back straightens and he immediately places a winning smile on his face.

“My name is Niall, I am Louis' boss from his new job.” Niall greets, sticking out his hand.

“I thought that he quit that job...” Jay says, shaking Niall's hand tentatively.

“There must have been some type of misunderstanding. Louis seems to have had issues with one of his co-workers. We decided to dismiss his request for the time being considering our knowledge of his living situation and we aim to fix the problem as soon as he comes back. I just wanted to come and discuss a few things with Louis, here.” Niall explains, his voice sounding more professional and clear than Louis has ever heard.

“Well, Mr...” Jay starts.

“Horan. But please, just call me Niall.” he answers charmingly.

“Well Niall, you came just in time for dinner. You two can have your discussion just afterwards.” Jay insists, leaving no room for argument as she walks away.

Niall bristles past Louis, his shoulder ramming into Louis so hard that Louis swears he has a bruise. Niall gleefully walks into the kitchen and starts a polite conversation with Jay. Louis awkwardly follows behind, feeling like a stranger in his own home while Niall looks like he is part of the family.

“Louis, call your sisters down and please grab the twins.” Jay asks over Niall's shoulder.

Louis runs upstairs, yelling at his sisters to go downstairs, and walks into the twins room. They are in the midst in some type of weird game that no one would understand in which you stare at each other. Twins, man. 

“C'mon guys. Dinner time.” Louis interrupts the moment.

This catches their attention and causes them both to slowly toddle toward Louis. They both reach his knees and both request to be picked up through hand signals. Louis difficultly complies and eventually gets a twin on each hip.

He makes his way back to the dinner table, the twins having a babbling conversation with each other in complete gibberish. Louis sets them down in their respective high chairs. Jay and Niall step out of the kitchen, laughter bubbling out of both of their mouths. 

All of the girls are seated at the table with the twins on either side of Louis. Niall is seated across from Louis and next to Jay. The two are still chatting up a storm, some of the girls even joining in the conversation. Louis just sits silently and feeds the twins with the food set in front of them. Doris is independently stuffing her own face while Ernest still needs a little bit of help. Louis ignores the side-eye he occasionally gets from Niall or the small questions to Jay about Louis' childhood. 

They finish up dinner soon enough and Louis carries the twins into the family room so that they can play. The other twins follow suit to watch some reality show while Lottie walks upstairs soon followed by Fizzy. Jay goes to join the pairs of twins and leave Louis alone with Niall. Louis is pointedly not making any eye-contact with Niall.

“Louis, you have to look at me some time.” Niall says, a warning tilt to his voice.

Louis shakes his head at the ground, not liking the palpable tension in the air. It's hard to believe that the same person who saved his life and considered him as a best friend, is now sending him glares and hasn't spoken more than ten words to him. They had such a tight bond and their friendship was astonishing considering the short amount of time. Yet now, Louis feels as if he has ruined everything.

All of these thoughts hit Louis, the full impact of what he might have done to his treasured relationships. Louis cannot help the tears that start to well into his eyes at this realization. Louis likes to credit himself to not being too emotional, but the stress of everything has just built up too much. He doesn't know who he can trust anymore. Trusting his best friend for life ended up being one of his worst mistakes.

Niall doesn't seem to notice Louis' tears until Louis has to wipe his nose. His little sniffles grab Niall's attention, then he is being dragged out the back door. As soon as Louis feels the cooler night air hit his arms, he is being wrapped up in a pair of arms. His face is pushed into a familiar chest and he feels comfortable.

“Shhh. It's alright. Let it out.” Niall comforts Louis while a hand rests on his head and another hand on his back.

Louis feels like a kitten with the way that Niall is petting him, but his current state doesn't hate it. He just needs consoling.

Niall continues to pet Louis' back and hair while he feels a light wet-patch form on the front of his shirt. Louis' face has turned into a scrunched-up mess and he is just letting everthing go. 

“You have to talk to me, Lou. I know that something must have happened to change your mind, but I honestly don't know what. I don't want you leaving without trying to fix whatever is wrong.” Niall explains, his voice soothing Louis.

Louis steps back, scrubbing his eyes with his fists. Niall still has a comforting hand on his elbow, but Louis wants to prove that he is an actual adult that isn't just overridden with feelings. He realizes that he has been an emotional wreck lately and it's a it embarrassing thinking back on it. He is an adult, he can handle his own situations. Louis takes one big sniff and look up at Niall.

“I was told about what would happen if I stuck around with you guys. I was told about the dangers. I wasn't simply babied and told that I would be protected, I was told about the reality of what could happen to me or the ones that I love.” Louis says, staring Niall in the eyes.

“Who told you that?!” Niall asks.

“Zayn.” Louis almost whispers.

“You mean your friend, cause I can go set things strai-”

“No, Niall. I mean...I mean Zayn Malik.” Louis says.

Niall removes the hand that he has on Louis' elbow. His face doesn't have the same level of shock that it did before. He actually just looks more angry.

“I knew it.” he says, whispering to the ground.

He looks back at Louis with sincerity and anger, a certain fire in his eyes.

“I knew that he would lead you away from us. What did he tell you? What did he say? I can promise you that what he said was probably not true. Tell me!” Niall inches into Louis' personal space.

“He told me...what happened before he left. And don't say that nothing happened! Cause I was the one who had to drive him to the airport, I was the last friend he had here.” Louis ends solemnly. 

The air around them is chilling as the silence stretches. The chirping of the crickets fills the silence as Louis avoids eye contact by looking at the fireflies slowly appearing. The outdoor lights slowly turn on as the sky darkens. The scene is as picturesque as a suburban backyard can be. The only factor ruining the scene being Niall's stern expression. 

“Louis, look at me.” Niall says.

Louis keeps his head turned away.

“Louis, just...” Niall grabs Louis' chin and turns it, “look.”

“I am sure that you are scared. You can absolutely be terrified. But, I can assure you that whatever Zayn told you about is never going to happen. Do you want me to be completely honest Louis?” Niall asks, as if scolding a child in class.

Louis hesitantly nods in obedience.

“You are in more danger being over here than staying with us. Harry has....he has enemies, Lou. People that would use any means necessary to hurt him. You being one of them. There will always be people watching, and they saw you and Harry together. They might have not made the full connection between you two, but you are still associated with him. Louis, the only reason that I am here right now is to protect you. That is my job. That is the one thing that Harry has ever asked of me. If other people weren't a threat, I would be back at the house handing Harry ice cream and putting the dvd's in for him.” Niall explains.

Louis smiles at the ground as he envisions Harry wrapped up in blankets while watching The Notebook. Niall just grabs his attention again.

“But people out there know who you are and are able to take you away easily. I don't want them to track you down to here. I think it would be in your best interest to not lead criminals to your family. Do you understand?” Niall's blue eyes pierce Louis' own.

“Yes.” Louis nods sadly.

He does understand, he get it. That doesn't mean that he's going to cooperate well. There is still much information being withheld and it's a bit hurtful that they don't trust him to know. He does miss Harry, though. So much. He could only hope that Harry would take him back after this.

“Will you come back with me, then?” Niall implores. 

“Yes. Just let me get my things and talk to my mom.” Louis explains, leaving Niall's grip.

Louis makes his way back in. The silence in the house shows how long they've been in there. It seems that all of the kids are asleep aside from Lottie and his parents are sitting at the table together. They all look up when Louis walks back in with a Niall trailing behind.

“Mr. Horan and I talked about it. I'm ready to go back now.” Louis says simply before heading into his room to grab his items.

He knows that if he said anymore he might have told his parents and Lottie everything and ruined his chances of going back. He knows that if they knew the truth that they would never let him go. 

Louis walks back in with his bag on his back. Niall is talking quietly with them, Jay is nodding along to his words. He seems to be explaining something. Lottie is the only one looking at Louis, and her face is adorned with a huge smirk.

Louis clears his throat and Niall stands up almost like a soldier at attention. The rest of them stand up as well, getting ready for hugs.

“Are you two sure that you don't just want to spend the night and leave tomorrow morning? It's late and I don't want to see you two on the news for a car accident due to sleep deprivation.” Jay asks motherly.

“You can trust me, Jay. I am the safest driver there is.” Niall reassures her.

“But what about food. Are you two sure you don't just want to stay for a bit so that you don't starve on the road? Hunger can cause accidents you know.” Jay doubles back.

They both quietly laugh at Jay's efforts to keep them both here a little longer no matter the excuse. Louis just shakes his head at her with a stop-worrying expression.

Louis quickly walks over and hugs his step-father, keeping it brief and manly. He then hugs Lottie, her cheek going against his. She whispers something about “going back to his sugar daddy” in his ear. Judging by Niall's raised eyebrows, it was not much a whisper. Then, he hugs his mother and tries not to tear up too much. No matter how old he gets, he will always be a mama's boy.

“Be safe, baby. I want you to come right back here if anything happens, okay?” Jay whipsers.

Luis dutifully nods and gives her a squeeze. He steps back and walks to the front door, Niall swinging his keys behind him. Louis gives a final wave before Niall steps in front and leads the both of them out of the house. No one comments on how Niall seems to scope the area before leading Louis outside.

Louis walks to Niall's car, a smaller and more modern one than last time, and turns to wave one more time. Niall opens the door and he slides into the passenger side and sets his bag behind him. Niall climbs into the driver's seat after him and starts up the car.

“Here's a pillow since it's a it of a long drive and you must be tired.” Niall says, throwing Louis a compact pillow.

“I'm not a child.” Louis says petulantly.

“No you're not. But you have been emotionally stretched. I think it would be better for the both of us if you just sleep this drive away. It is a few hours.” Niall says, pulling onto the road.

“What about you? Aren't you tired?” Louis asks concernedly.

“Don't you worry about me. I don't know if you realized this Louis, but I am a trained individual. I have been trained to stay awake for long periods of time and be able to do physically taxing work. This is a walk in the park.” Niall explains proudly.

“Look at me. I'm Niall and I can stay awake for along time. Just call me the Energizer Bunny. I can keep going and going and going and going and-” Louis says in a bad Irish accent.

Niall laughs out loud at this and sends a quick crinkled smile in Louis' direction.

“Just go to sleep, Lou.” he says.

And Louis must have heeded his advice. As when he opens his eyes again, two whole hours have passed. They're not in London yet, but it's been a good while. Louis rubs his eyes and tries to look out the windows. The sky is getting more clouded so they must be getting closer to the city.

While looking at the stars, Louis remembers something that Niall said.

“Niall?” Louis slightly whispers.

“Yes, Lou.” he responds.

“Why would they not just assume that Harry and I are dating if he's taking me places and being intimidating with me?” he asks, sounding as innocent as he can.

Niall clears his throat as if he's embarrassed. The answer must not be too good.

“Are you...sure that you want to know?” Niall asks.

“Not so much with that reaction. But yes.” Louis says, sitting up and a bit.

And where did this blanket come from that is restricting his movement?

“Well, Harry has been in this business for a while. So people have been watching him like hawks for a long time. So they've seen some of the...activities that he's been up to. Some of the people that Harry has spent time with.” Niall says, skirting around a real answer.

Louis sits back, wondering what on Earth he could mean. Then...it hits him.

“Harry was taking around prostitutes!” Louis yells.

“We prefer the term escort-”

“He was escorting prostitutes!” Louis yells back.

“Listen, Harry had hit a rough patch in his life. He needed comfort that none of us could really provide.” Niall explains calmly.

“I mean..you could have provided it if you really tried...” Louis suggests.

“Louis!” Niall exclaims, a deep blush on his cheeks but a humored smile on his face.

Louis laughs at this, but he doesn't forget about the escorts.

“Let me see what they looked like.” Louis says, holding his hand out.

“ I have nothing to give you. It's not like a carry around pictures of the people that Harry has slept with.” Niall dismisses.

“Harry' famous right?” Louis asks.

“Wha-who said that? Harry's not famous per say...”

“He has a lot of fans, right?” Louis asks more specifically.

“You could say that.” Niall shrugs.

“So, do you think that I could just look it up?” Louis asks, side-eyeing Niall.

“I mean...it's not like I've looked him up or anything.” Niall says.

“Yeah, cause that's not suspicious Nialler.” Louis jokes, turning on his phone.

He goes into Safari and just looks up, 'Harry Styles Date', hoping for the best. He does not expect what he receives. There is a myriad of pictures, so Louis decides to start from the beginning. 

The first picture, Harry is holding the door open for this boy who has short brown hair and blue eyes and similar features to Louis. His ass isn't as good though. But Louis can clearly see the small signs of pampering, from the designer shoes to the expensive watch that does not go with the rest of his outfit. It is pretty blatant that the boy didn't pay for the items himself. Harry also has, like, no emotion in his eyes but his dimples are popping.

The next picture is of a different small boy, same hair though, but you can only see his upper torso as the picture is secretly taking of him and Harry in a restaurant. The boy has his hand on Harry's and looks very seductive. He is wearing some type of diamond necklace with matching earrings from the sparkle coming off in the picture. Harry doesn't look as into it as the smaller boy does, but he looks like he's grinning and bearing it.

The next picture is a little more shocking. There's a tall blonde girl in it, and they're walking out in the cold together. Her face is smiling and she's holding onto Harry's hand. Harry isn't holding back, but at least there is a smile on his face. Harry looks a lot younger in this photo. He couldn't have been older than 18 in it. The younger girl also looks slightly familiar. Louis just can't remember.

“Who was the blonde chick?” Louis asks, still staring at the photo, clicking on similar photos of them walking.

“You're probably thinking of Taylor Swift. She and Harry had some type of thing that none of us understood. Harry wouldn't talk about her with us and kind of just avoided her half the time. We didn't really get it.” Niall says.

Louis just nods, it looks complicated. She doesn't have any of the glitz and glamour that Harry's other dates seem to have had. Louis shrugs it off and keeps scrolling. The rest of the pictures show Harry and some small twink that each have slight similarities to Louis. They each also appear to have a form of gift with them that blatantly was not bought by them. Harry also looks very bored in all of the pictures.

Louis is ready to close the app when he crosses upon a picture. It's a blurred photo, but it's pretty clear what's happening. The main focus is Harry and the smaller boy that he is clenching close to him while whispering in his ear. They are surrounded by other people and Harry's large body only lets the boy's upper torso be seen a bit. Louis looks at the picture closer and realizes.

That's a picture from his date with Harry at the music festival. It was a perfect for a picture too. Lights were flashing everywhere, so a flash in the crowd would have gone unnoticed. Plus it was way too loud to hear any type of shutter. It is a bit surreal to see a picture of yourself, even if a small piece, on the internet.

Louis clicks on the link with the photo, and is brought to a very tweeny-geared website. It's opened on a main article, 'New Beau or Passing Twink?', as crudely titled. Louis is not a twink. He's just smaller than the average bear.

“You are so totally a twink. Don't even deny.” Niall says.

Oops, he must have said that out loud. 

Louis turns off his phone, he has had enough snooping for one night. Now, he has to annoy Niall.

“Are we there yet?” Louis whines.

“Don't you dare start that, Louis. I am too young to already be getting stress-lines. I don't want you to be the cause of any more.” Niall warns.

“What are you talking about? I was just asking an innocent question that has gone unanswered. So tell me Irish one, are we there yet?” Louis replies.

“Don't make me say it.” Niall warns again.

“Are. We. There. Yet?” Louis pronounces.

“We get there when we get there!” Niall exclaims.

Louis bursts out in laughter. His Irish accent had only added to the reference and made the moment even greater. But, his laughter is interrupted by his own yawn. What a buzz-kill. He yawns again.

“Why don't you go back to sleep? When you wake up, we'll already be there.” Niall suggests.

Louis nods and pulls the mysterious blanket up. He rests his head on the pillow and falls asleep to the sound of Niall's humming of a Taylor Swift song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nouis is my favorite bromance of all time. Just saying.
> 
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	17. A friend in need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't wait until testing is over and I can relaaaaaax. Enjoy the chapter!

When Louis wakes up, a small bouncing motion happening. He can feel as his world move up and down, his neck feeling small pains as his head is bounced around. He opens his eyes and finds that there is a leprechaun jumping on his bed. 

Louis is about to grab Niall in frustration from pulling him out of his slumber, when Niall disappears from view. A small thud then an audible groan are the only sounds that Louis hears. He peaks over the edge of the bed to see Niall holding his head in his hands with a scrunched-up expression.

“One fell off and broke his head. No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” Louis wags his finger at Niall.

Niall just sticks his tongue out Louis in reply and rubs his head a little more. Louis lets out a little giggle and pokes at Niall. Niall pushes away Louis' finger and gets back up onto the bed. 

“Anyway. Let's go eat some breakfast!” Niall says joyfully.

Louis is then dragged out of bed and to the kitchen. He never has seen the dining room in full, he only knows the kitchen really. Maybe he could venture into it as a refined guest. Almost like a guest at a royal meal.

Louis giggles out loud at the thought of Harry in a crown and is sat down by Niall's hands. The chef simply raises her eyebrows at the sight of Louis, but goes so fix them something. 

“She had to make many sympathy desserts for our dear Harold. You really broke his heart.” Niall explains while her back is turned.

“Speaking of, where is he?” Louis asks cautiously.

He wasn't exactly in a rush to face him head on, but he really did miss him. He would fall asleep and pretend that the blanketing around him was Harry's arms. It was pathetic, but a guy can fantasize in peace!

“He's still in bed. He hasn't been getting out of bed much since you left.” Niall comments, looking away from Louis.

Louis tries to hide his disappointment. He thought that Harry might want to get out of bed if only to see Louis or at least tell him off or something. He does know that Louis is here...right?

“Why would he want to get up for me, at least?” Louis asks quietly.

“See that's the thing,” Niall scratches the back of his neck, “He doesn't entirely know that you are here yet.” he says bashfully.

“What?! Then how do you know that I should be here?! What if he doesn't want me here at all and you bringing me here is a bad thing!” Louis whisper shouts, as it is still the morning and he doesn't want to wake the beast upstairs.

“I kind of wanted it to be a happy surprise for him. What you did really tore him up and...I really don't want you to take this personally here. But his lack of motivation has hurt our whole business. He doesn't just sit behind a desk and command people to do things. He has to actually talk to people, go out on missions with us, he needs to manage everything. And without him even getting out of bed, we kind of have been a mess. Our groups down south have no idea what to do and some of the members have been disbanding, costing us money and weakening our overall strength. We have major strength in numbers, and I don't want to lose that because Harry is too sad.” Niall explains.

Louis just kind of sits there, weight slowly sinking onto his shoulders. He didn't entirely realize how much control he held. He figured that this was just some fling to Harry and that him leaving wouldn't do too much. He knows that Harry holds certain power, but he never really knew just how much. He still doesn't know how any of this earns money, but he knows that it is important to the livelihood of many people. 

The food is sat down in front of them, Louis' plate landing with a noticeably louder clang than normal. Niall quickly hides into the food in front of him by stuffing his cheeks as Louis picks up a fork and picks at his egg. 

“You gotta eat.” Niall mentions after gulping down a pig's-worth of bacon.

“Yes, Mr. Grey.” Louis replies, starting to actually eat the typically delicious breakfast.

Niall just shakes his head and they eat in silence, aside from the sound of Niall noisily eating. 

“I think I want to go talk with him.” Louis says, both of them full of food.

“Go for it, just don't do anything you'll regret.” Niall says, wiping his face with a napkin.

Louis nods and makes his way out of the kitchen, but he is stopped by Niall calling his name. He turns and looks to him.

“You do know that I also brought you back because you're my friend, right?” Niall asks concernedly.

“Yeah,” Louis nods, “I do.”

Louis runs up the stairs and goes straight to the room that he remembers. He peaks inside and confirms that it's the right room. It's dark and the curtains are drawn, but he can see the outline of Harry underneath the sheet. The curly hair peaking out onto the pillow helps too.

Louis tip-toes into the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible. He slowly creeps toward the bed, stepping on an array of clothing. He stops and remembers, Harry likes it when Louis wears his clothes. He hurriedly grabs the closest t-shirt and changes into it. He then slips off his joggers and is left in his boxers. He wasn't initially going for the seduction route, but he apparently is now.

Louis slowly crawls onto the bed, careful to not knee any part of Harry. He reaches Harry's waist and slowly rests his butt on Harry. He then reaches up and pulls the sheet down to reveal Harry's face. Now, people always say that certain people look like angels when they sleep. But honestly, Harry looks like a god.

His sculpted cheekbones and chin are accentuated by his pouty lips and the long eyelashes right by his nose. His face is relaxed and calm, so Louis feels slightly bad for wanting to wake him up. Louis wants to talk to him though, but he doesn't want to start him off in a bad mood.

“Harry.” Louis almost whispers.

It does nothing. Not even a flinch. So Louis leans a little closer.

“Hazza.” Louis whispers again.

Nada. He sleeps like a rock. So Louis leans even closer toward him.

“Haz, please wake up.” Louis whispers, almost in his ear at this point.

There's a slight flutter of the eyes, but still no signs of life. Louis tries a different route. He strokes a little bit of Harry's bare nipple.

“No, Niall. I don't want a prostitute.” Harry mumbles out. 

“Oh, Harry. You couldn't afford me.” Louis says sassily.

Harry's eyes shoot open and his arms goes straight onto Louis' back. He sits up quickly with the sheer force of his abdomen and almost snaps Louis' back in half from the sudden bend.

“Louis?!” a groggy Harry almost yells.

Louis immediately hides his face in Harry neck, both in shame and to protect his ear from the loud noise in such close proximity. 

“Louis! It really is you! Unless I'm dreaming again. Then that would be really disappointing.” Harry says, still evidently tired.

“Again? You dream about me curly?” Louis asks, lifting his head out of Harry's neck.

“Now I know I'm dreaming. I do not remember giving you that shirt.” Harry says, looking down at his shirt on Louis' torso.

“Oh really? And since you are only dreaming Hazza, what happens next?” Louis asks, playing along to avoid any awkwardness.

Harry doesn't say a word. He just grabs the back of Louis' head and shoves it toward his own. Suddenly, they are making out of Harry's bed. Louis is in Harry's lap and his hands are resting on Harry's chest in reaction. He was ready to push Harry away, but then he just melted.

Harry kisses so much better than Louis' imagined. He's better than a sleazy snog in a random bar. So much better. And his touches are surprisingly soft considering the intensity of his tongue and whatever motion it is doing currently in Louis' mouth.

Louis wraps his arms around Harry's neck and shifts his body even closer. Harry only tightens his arms and slowly shifts his hand closer to Louis' rear. He fingers fiddle with Louis' tailbone and stroke into the small dimples in his back. Their kiss suddenly breaks.

“I didn't know you had back dimples.” Harry comments, dipping a thumb in each.

“I've always had them, you've just never seen them.” Louis comments, his hips trying to continue the activities that were previously halted.

“If I've never seen them, then why would I know about them in my dream-” Harry's voice cut off and his face widens in shock.

Louis halts his movements and observes as Harry slowly becomes a still statue. His eyes wide and his jaw slack. Despite his loosened facial features, his hands grip tighter than ever on Louis. Guess that Louis is going to have some nice new bruises on his hips.

“Earth to Harold.” Louis waves his hand in front of Harry's face, slightly pulling him out of the stupor.

Harry's eyes shift straight to Louis', and it's a little haunting how focused Harry is in Louis' eyes. He opens and closes his mouth a bit, trying to form words of some form.

“Th-This..isn't a dream?” Harry asks incredulously.

Louis slowly nods, becoming a bit uncomfortable with Harry's serious face while they are stuck in such an intimate position. Harry seems to remember that and glances down to where Louis is sitting on him, then he immediately looks back up. He blinks hard a few more times, leaving Louis anxious for whatever he may do to Louis.

Louis doesn't expect all of the air to whoosh out of his body all in one swoop. Harry has crushed Louis into his own torso, snuffling his nose into the juncture of Louis' neck and shoulder. Louis tries to ignore how much Harry's hair tickles him and instead hugs Harry back. He wants to just hug Harry and then everything will be okay.

“I knew that you would come back. I knew it.” Harry whispers into Louis' throat.

Louis chooses to not mention that Niall was the one who brought him back, he doesn't want this to get emotional or touchy-feely. He doesn't want anything to be said in the heat of the moment.

“Thank you for the money. It made my little sister very happy.” Louis changes the subject.

“I would give you all of the money in the world if that means having you with me.” Harry replies.

Okay, getting touchy-feely again. Louis needs to change the subject to something Harry cannot change around.

“Well, when I did take her shopping, I found out something very interesting about you, Mr. Styles.” Louis says teasingly.

Harry just hums in question, rubbing his cheek on Louis and is feeling his way around slowly, as if testing if Louis is real.

“I found out that you are quite a bit of a celebrity.” Louis says.

Harry pulls his head out from Louis' throat and gives Louis a confused look. His brows scrunched forward adorably. Louis can't help the hand that tucks a strand of hair behind Harry's ear as Harry nuzzles into the hand.

“Yup. A had a whole crew of hot, tall people gathering around me to squeal at a picture of you. Found out that you are in fact no stranger to social media.” Louis says casually, stroking behind Harry's ear.

Harry's face only scrunches up in more confusion, but there is a small hint of amusement in his smile urging Louis to continue.

“I have to say, it is a bit odd for my younger sister to fan-girl over my boyfriend.” Louis says, looking Harry straight in the eyes.

“Boyfriend?” Harry asks, stuck on that one word.

Louis hesitates, the word sort of just slipped out of his mouth. He hadn't really thought that deeply about it. It was just kind of...a word. A label more like. A boyfriend, a regular male companion with whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship. He thought that he and Harry have that relationship, but who knows now that he has ruined it all.

“Yes...if you would have me.” Louis says shyly, his confidence decreasing.

Harry's gaping mouth slowly forms into a cheshire-cat grin and the mirth radiates in his eyes. Louis smiles back in hope, then their mouths are smashed together once again. Harry's arms wrapping around Louis. Louis, though, pushes them apart. A smack audible from the separation of their lips.

“Is that a yes? Because kissing me doesn't really constitute as an answer...” he comments.

“You know it's a yes, you chav.” Harry teases before kissing him again.

Louis leans into the kiss and feels as Harry's hand goes under his shirt on the back. They get so into each other, they barely hear the door.

“Hey, I was just wondering if you guys are back togeth-Oh My Damn! I'll leave you two to it!” Niall shouts in surprise before slamming the door behind himself.

They both burst out in laughter against each others lips. Louis looks through crinkled eyes at his current boyfriend, and he finds that there might be such a thing as soul-mates. 

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“Look at the happy couple.” Liam says as Harry tugs Louis into the living area by the hand.

Harry plops down on the couch and drags Louis onto his lap. Louis gleefully obliges and hides in Harry's neck, it's a little different for cuddling when it's in front of other people. 

Louis glances over Harry's collar bones and sees Niall grinning at him from the other couch. It makes him blush and also think about what he and Harry could have been sooner. Louis definitely needs to have a talk with Zayn about judging others. Louis might also need to consider how easily he trusts. 

“So..um...Louis? Did you hear from...um...” Liam drifts off awkwardly.

Louis peaks up from his slouched position on Harry, ready and at attention. If he had the ears of a dog, they would be perking up.

“Hear from who, Liam?” Louis asks innocently.

“Well...um...” Liam fiddles with his pants a bit.

“Zayn. He wants to know about Zayn.” Niall speaks up before shoving nachos down his throat.

“Thank you, Niall.” Liam says sarcastically.

Louis looks to Harry, who shrugs at him, then looks back at Liam. Liam has never represented a kicked puppy quite like right now. His brown eyes hold so much hope and sadness in them. The vulnerability in his face completely contrasts with the bulging, secure muscles that decorate his body. It's almost as if he is showing weakness at the mention of Zayn.

“I mean, the last we talked was before the um...” Louis hesitantly looks to Harry, who just slides a hand onto his knee while watching the tele. 

“Aside from anything about Harry, of course, did he say anything about me?” Liam asks further.

“He talked about you a little bit. A bit in passing, really. The main thing he said about 'people like you' is that people like me should never trust them.” Louis recalls.

Liam just nods his head solemnly and stares down at his knees, “I understand why he would think that way.” he says.

“No you don't dipshit. His opinion is completely based on incorrect information.” Ed saunters into the room.

All of the guys greet Ed, Louis offering a little wave, while Liam just avoids eye-contact. Ed sits down on the other side of Liam and opens up his laptop. 

“I am tired of this melodrama, Payne. As soon as I finish writing this program, I am driving you to Malik's place whether you like it or not. And then, you two are going to have a normal conversation like two grown men.” Ed explains, never looking up from his screen. 

“Thanks, Ed. But I should go on my own.” Liam stands heroically, then marches out of the room with determination.

Louis and Harry share a look of confusion on what just occurred, but one does learn to not question too much into Liam. Niall still munches away on his chips while Harry rubs Louis' back and watches tele. The soft clacking of Ed's keys combined with the dull roar of an American football game almost lull Louis back to sleep.

He is shaken from his stupor by the literal vibrations happening under his cheek. It turns out to be Harry chuckling at Niall. Louis peeks his eyes open to catch the sight of Niall managing to stuff to mouthfuls on nachos into his mouth. Ed ignores what's around him and continues typing.

The moment is interrupted by the sound of Harry's phone ringing. Harry picks it up and glances at the caller ID. It must be important since he politely slides Louis off of his lap and takes the call outside. Louis pouts as he walks out.

“Don't you need your things?” Niall mentions.

“Huh?” 

“Well, I am just going to assume from Harry's reaction to the phone call and the sound of him pacing in the hallway as the fact that he and I are going to have to go on a short expedition. I'm pretty sure that Ed is going somewhere too, and I don't want to leave you here alone. I know you just got back and all, but don't you want your things for a longer stay?” Niall propositions.

Louis looks thoughtful, then he vigorously nods his head. He might as well run back and grab most of his things while the guys are out.

“Yeah, thought that you would. I'll call Paul. He's an old friend of ours and I'm sure he could drive you to your flat and back safely.” Niall says while reaching into his pocket for his phone.

Harry walks in soon after and looks a little distraught. He heads over to Louis and kneels in front of the sofa so that they are eye-level.

“Louis, I have sort-of-bad news. There was issues up North with Grimshaw's team, and I think I might have to-”

“Just go.” Louis interrupts.

Harry is taken aback and looks at Louis.

“How did you know that-”

“Don't worry about it and don't worry about me. I need to go out and grab some things anyway.” Louis says.

“Well, I will still want someone to be with-”

“Already arranged it.” Niall interrupts Harry, ending his call. 

“Oh. Well then, I guess that you and I should get ready.” Harry awkwardly stands up, kisses Louis on the head, and heads out of the room.

Niall just shakes his head and follows Harry out after ruffling Louis' hair. That just leaves Louis and Ed in the room together. Louis tries to see what's on Ed's screen, only to remember that all of the coding just gives him a headache. Louis shakes his head and gets up to leave the room.

“Louis?” Ed's voice halts Louis' actions.

“Um, yes, Ed?” Louis questions.

“Just...be safe, will you?” Ed looks to Louis full of concern.

“Of course, I always am.” Louis reassures.

“I just...don't want to see Harry like he was without you ever again. One thing that I will tell you Louis, he was not like the man you see today before he met you.” Ed says, then goes back to his laptop.

Louis slowly nods and backs out of the room. He shuts the door behind him, and can't help the feeling that something deep was just revealed to him. But he can't place any actual ideas behind it.

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“And you'll make absolute sure that you won't get shot?” 

“Louis, you act like this is the first time that we'll be doing this. We are going to be fine. It's you I'm more worried about.” Harry replies.

“Why would you worry about me? I'm just swinging by my flat for some items. What reason could you have to worry about me?” Louis asks.

“No reason at all. Just, be safe.” Harry holds Louis' head in his gloved hands.

“You too.” Louis puts his hands on Harry's and leans in for a kiss.

The kiss is chaste, but fairly worth while. Harry plants another on Louis' forehead before turning around and straddling his motorcycle. Niall is right behind him, strapping on his gloves. They both soon zoom off, sending waves to Louis before disappearing into the woods.

Louis turns and nods to Paul, a very muscular man it turns out. He made sure to use that strength to pull Louis off of climbing the plants outside while waiting for Harry and Niall to say good-bye. He gets bored, okay? Paul already feels like a father and they've only known each other for less than an hour.

Louis glances at the house one more time before climbing into the black car waiting for him. Paul shuts the doors and gets into the driver's seat. 

Hopefully Harry and Niall will be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've kind of just given up on being consistent with updates. Also, should Danielle or Briana come into the story or is that too much?
> 
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	18. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Here's a chapter.
> 
> Warning for bad/homophobic language. Plus, none of the people are depicted accurately for the way they are in real life. Lots of people look like assholes this chapter.

“Only about thirty more minutes, Mr. Tomlinson.” Paul says, peering into the mirror.

“Paul, I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you call me Mr. Tomlinson, I will call you Mr. Higgins.” Louis tells him exasperatedly.

Paul just smiles and shakes his head, looking back at the road. Louis smiles back, finding ease in their lighthearted banter. He already knows that he is a father from his short tales of his kids, and he relays that fatherly attitude in his job. Louis can see why Harry trusts him so much.

“How did you meet Harry?” Louis prompts, boredom creeping up on him.

“I met him at a family event. His mother happened to work with my brother. He was only twelve at the time, his sister Gemma was only sixteen. They both were inseparable, really. I was just a random man who happened to be at the right place at the right time.” Paul starts.  
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“And this is Paul, he is training to be a bodyguard for the rich and famous!” Anne introduces.

“Please, Anne. You make it sound as if I already have the job.” Paul corrects, fondly looking at Anne.

“You practically do. I know that you'll do great. Wouldn't he?” Anne asks the people around her.

The pair chat up with Anne's relatives as light music plays in the background of the outdoor party. The fairy lights help illuminate the darkened night as children go running past in some game of tag. The adults can all be seen with various drinks in their hands, with a few designated drivers spotted throughout. Anne pulled out all of the stops to accommodate her friends and relatives before the summer vacation comes to an end.

Harry happens to go running past at that moment, but Anne manages to catch the boy before he can join the other kids. Harry is clearly out of breath but there is a massive grin on his face.

“Harry, this is Paul. The one that I have been telling you about. Say hello, would you?” Anne suggests, looking down at her son.

Harry looks Paul up and down and appears to be thinking hard before a look of realization sets upon him. 

“Do you really beat up all of the bad guys?” Harry asks excitedly, forgoing any formal salutations.

This makes Paul bark with laughter at the naivety of the youth. 

“Sure, I do the dirty work. But I think your mother does more than I can ever do.” Paul reminds Harry, who seems to have already gotten bored.

Anne just shakes her head at this and smiles. 

“Harry, come on! Josh finished his fort in the woods!” Gemma whisper-shouts from the side, her lanky-teenage form in a slight crouch position.

Anne lets Harry go, but not without a quick kiss on the cheek, to join the other kids. Harry hurries after Gemma to go into the woods. The parents are finally trusting the kids to go off into the woods since they will all be together.

“Can't believe that he's that big already. I remember walking into the station and seeing pictures of baby Harry littering your office and even a few sneaking into my brother's.” Paul comments.

“I never really thought that time could go by that quickly, but somehow my baby boy and baby girl aren't babies anymore.” Anne agrees wistfully.

Paul just wraps an arm around Anne and walks them back to where a group of parents are playing some card game. The night goes on like so.

“Anne? Do you have anymore water?” one of the moms ask, a while later.

“I do!” Anne replies quickly, but after checking she comes back empty-handed.

“Or at least, I thought I did. I'll just have to get you a bottle from the cooler by the side of the house.” she says, starting to walk over.

“I got it, Anne. Don't worry about it.” Paul says standing up.

“Please, I'm the host here.” Anne says.

“No, trust me, I can do it. Plus, I am sick of watching my brother cheat at Apples to Apples.” Paul says before leaving while his brother gives an indignant squawk.

The laughter of the parents fade out as Paul wanders to the cooler by the side of the house. He reaches in to grab two waters and then closes the cooler. He steps to go back to the parents, but something stops him. Some sort of uncomfortable feeling.

He feels the need to check on the kids while they are in the woods, since none of the parents have heard from them in a while. He starts to hike down the slight incline into the woods that lies behind the Twist household. He doesn't hear any sounds that one would usually hear when children are playing together, especially with the dramatic Harry in the midst of them. But then, he hears shouting.

Paul breaks into a sprint toward the fort that the kids should be occupying. He could not have prepared himself for the sight that he comes upon.

Most of the children are cowering in fear behind various foliage, holding onto each other for dear life. There is a man there, with his back to Paul, who appears to be wielding a short knife. Gemma is also cowering in fear, but she is blocked by Harry standing in front of her.

“Don't touch my sister!” Harry shouts at the man.

“Just give me the girl, you child. She and I will have our own version of play-time.” the man tells Harry.

Paul stays back, unbeknownst to the children, and plans to until something happens that prompts him to take action. The assailant is holding a weapon, but he is clearly showing doubt in the face of children as none of the kids have any type of stab wounds.

“I said, DON'T TOUCH HER!” Harry sounds furious and his child-like arms extend outward as if to further block Gemma from danger.

“Oh, fuck this.” the man lifts up his knife and Paul chooses that moment to act.

Paul reaches behind the man and disables the man from further movement. Through the man's shock, he is able to act quickly and press a nerve in his wrist that forces him to drop the weapon. He quickly pounds a few punches into the man's head and knocks him unconscious.

The thud of his body is the only sound heard as everyone around him stares in astonishment. He quickly runs up to Gemma, where she lies on the ground and checks for any further injuries. She has small bruises on her wrists, but aside from that she is fairly unharmed. 

“Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? Is anybody else hurt in any way?” Paul quickly asks.

“Trust me, once he touched Gemma I did not let him do anything else.” Harry says, speaking for a frightened Gemma.

Paul nods at this, looking at Harry with a new admiration. All of the other kids are afraid, yet are crowding around Paul for a sense of security. The kids range from ages 12-17, and yet Harry was the one to act at a young age of 10.

“You did very well, Harry. Thanks to you, nobody got seriously hurt.” Paul reassures Harry, who surprisingly does not look nearly as distraught as a ten year old should.

“H-he grabbed me from behind. He tried to t-touch me. Harry jumped in and p-pushed him b-back.” Gemma stutters out, pulling Harry close into a hug.

Paul watches as the siblings hug it out. He gets up from his knees and gathers everyone else.

“I think that we should all go back. Harry, you can lead your mom back out to arrest this man correctly.” Paul instructs, helping Gemma to get up.

Harry nods at this and they all head back to where the adults are. 

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“He just...protected her? At such a young age?” Louis prompts in shock.

“I was surprised too, but Harry has always been like that. He kind of scared his mother when he was very little from how calm he always was, not really a fussy baby. He only loses his cool when someone he loves is threatened.” Paul answers, looking at Louis in the rear-view mirror.

“Then, how did you end up working with Harry?” Louis asks further.

“Well, turns out that Harry does not like the police system and how they handle rapists. He'll have to tell you about that when he's ready. But he essentially came up to me after I had finished my training. He was fourteen by then, but he was so ready to learn. I taught him the tricks and the trade of combat and next thing I know he is leading the world's largest gang. His family doesn't know, his mum being the chief of the police and all, but I know that what he does, he does for good.” Paul finishes.

“Oh,” is the only reply Louis can come up with.

He feels that a new page in the novel of Harry has been turned and he knows more about Harry than ever. He didn't know that Harry had a family, let alone that his mother is part of the police. Maybe that's why he's so good at avoiding them.

Louis also begins to imagine what it would be like to meet Harry's family. Or to have Harry meet his family. There couldn't be a possible part of Harry that his family wouldn't adore. His sister already adores him, as he's seen.

The buildings move in a blur across the windows, distracting Louis' mind. His eyelids start to feel heavy as the rhythm of the car combines with the soft sounds of air conditioning. Louis sinks lower into the leather of his seat and pulls the collar of Harry's shirt up. Sleep comes easy.

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“Get out of the vehicle and we won't shoot!!”

Louis is woken by the sounds of shouting and the screeching of tires. Louis hazily sees people dresses in all black surrounding the car.

“Shit!” Paul curses.

Paul hurriedly pulls a gun out of the glove compartment. Paul quickly turns off the safety and loads the magazine of the gun with bullets. Paul turns to look at Louis.

“Stay low, these windows are bulletproof. I will make absolute sure that they do not get to you.” Paul explains in a low voice, forcing Louis to wake up completely.

Paul whips back around and moves around and lowers the passenger seat. He reveals a heavy set of equipment. Paul grabs at certain garments and starts to wrap himself and strap himself. The sounds of clicking and zipping blends in with the pounding on the windows from the people outside of the car, still shouting in.

Louis looks around nervously, the world outside looking like a nightmare as the only color being black outside of the windows. The glass starts to shake with the force of their hits. Louis slides onto the ground, his body stilled in fear. 

The people outside start to shoot guns closely against the glass. Louis hurries to cover his ears as the loud sounds of gunshots pound into the car. 

“Louis, you have to stay calm. Nothing is going to happ-”

Paul is interrupted as glass shatters behind his head and he is knocked out by the back of a man's gun. His arm reaches in and unlocks the car. A man is shouting words, but Louis' head is pounding too loud for any words to enter his ears. His mouth is being muffled by a cloth with a faint sweet smell. 

The world starts to fade to black as he feels large arms wrap around him and he becomes too weak to defend himself. The arms drag him out of the side door and away from the car. He slightly watches the car become farther and farther away before he is roughly stuffed into a different vehicle, some sketchy van. The van drives away and Louis watches as the car with Paul in it explodes before darkness takes over. 

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The sound of muffled voices awakens Louis. His neck stiffens as his head shoots up, but his eyes feel too heavy to open. The voices sound hushed yet there is the background noise of distant shouts and pacing boots.

Louis' eyes slowly blink open and adjust to the settings around him. The room is dimly lit by a single, overhead lamp, but he can feel different materials on his body. His wrists feel cold as the metal cuffs dig into him. The chair he sits in does not have any sort of support, it just feels like a metal stool. His feet are also cuffed down, the metal is quite snug. His head hurts and his nose stings, as if he is just recovering from a severe fever of some sort.

Louis feels tears start to spring into his eyes, blurring his vision of the cement room. He is too terrified to think. His only thoughts become the possibilities of what is behind the sole door in the room. The large metal door that holds his fate. 

He then thinks of Harry, his only possible saving grace. But there is no possible way for Harry to know of what happened. Paul was completely knocked out and the car was destroyed with him in it. There is no way to track a destroyed vehicle. This means that Louis is left to his own devices. He is on his own now.

Louis surveys the room as soberly as he can, but there are absolutely no possible escape routes. The only clear exit is the large door and there is no way that Louis would be able to easily go out there without being caught. His restraints also don't really help with the lack of escape routes.

The sound of the door opening interrupts Louis' rapid thoughts. There is a bright light with the sounds of two sets of boots on the concrete ground. Louis shies away from the bright light before blinking to face the two people.

As his eyes clear, he spots the one and only Nick Grimshaw. But, it's the person behind him that shocks Louis more.

“Stan?! What are you doing here?!” Louis asks incredulously, staring at his ex-roomate.

Stan looks a bit rough for wear. His hair looks greasy and dirty while his face has cuts and dirt caked on. His clothes are rumpled and blatantly not his along with his boots. He also has a rifle over his shoulder and Louis doesn't think that he's ever shot a rifle. He looks out of place in this facility but his expression blends him right in. He looks fuming with a hint of insanity.

“Didn't really expect me, huh Lou?” Stan asks, almost teasingly.

They both stare at each other, Louis with a look of confusion and Stan completely stone faced. 

“Sorry to break the moment lovebirds, but I have a show to run here.” Nick interrupts.

Louis glares over at Grimshaw, his eyes glowing with hatred at the man who caused it all. He should have known that he would do something to Stan since he found him in his flat.

“Why am I here, Grimshaw.” Louis asks more as an order.

“Ooh, kitten has claws. Sadly, this kitten only has one life instead of nine. Plus, I think I might end that life tonight.” Nick says, bordering on nonsense as his eyes dart around the room.

“Why would you want to kill me?! What have I done!?” Louis asks, sounding more and more desperate as he talks.

“I don't really have that much against you, really. It's your 'lover' that we have problems with. Yes, you heard me, we. So, don't ask me, sweetheart. Ask my lovely friends.” Nick says, walking over to the door.

Nick pulls out a random stool, matching the one that Louis is tied to, and behind him walk a slew of people. First, a tall man that looks slightly Italian, then a man in the same dark clothing as before with a smaller baby, then a taller blonde girl, then a final man with dark brown hair and a large scar on his face.

They all line up next to Stan, all dressed in similar gear. They all look ready to kill except for the baby, who is sleeping peacefully and contrasting incredibly with everyone around them.

Nick sets his stool next to Louis and motions for the last man to say something before crossing his legs in anticipation. He looks as if his favorite show is starting and he doesn't want to miss it.

The man straightens up and faces Louis.

“Your so-called boyfriend destroyed my life.” he starts, his deep American accent startling Louis.

“I had a group...no, a family with me. All of these men that I knew almost my whole life. We ate together, slept together, and dreamed together. We all believed that we had a fighting chance in this rotten world and we could only crawl through it together. We didn't want to hurt nobody, we just wanted to live like any other goddamn American would. Then, this group of British men come out of no where and decide that we aren't good enough. We begged for mercy, but it was no use. I remember seeing the glint of happiness in that bastard's eyes before he shot and killed all of my best friends. I got away with only one severe bullet wound, the one on my face. Now, without the men that guided me to live for each day, I have to walk the streets as a monster. I can't go about life like any other American anymore. I get stared at and mocked for just showing my face in public. Harry fucking Styles destroyed my life and now he needs to pay.” he says.

Louis stares dumbfounded, barely able to process anything before the girl speaks up.

“Yes, Harry Styles and I have major problems between us.” she starts, and Louis' eyes widen in shock as he recognizes Taylor Swift. 

“He and I did have a thing going for us for a long time. We even spoke of getting married and living the life of our dreams one day with children and white picket fences and stuff. But he just had to be a dick. Yes, I fell in love with him, but how was I to know that he would cheat on me with my own brother! I wasn't ever going to know until I walked in on them doing it in our apartment we had together. He didn't even stop when I screamed in horror. I couldn't believe that I was related to and dating faggots! I tried to reason with him, but he just blew me off and stopped talking to me. He even sold our apartment without telling me. That was a fricken New York duplex! He also took money straight out of my banking account, that I gave him permission to use because of our future, and used it on sex toys. **Gay** sex toys. He ruined my family and stole my property. The fairy needs to pay.” she finishes.

The man with the baby then steps forward, jostling the baby a bit carelessly.

“Harry Styles is a murderer. My brother lived as a proud man with a beautiful wife and five wonderful children. They all lived in peace, not causing harm to any person around them. My wife and I lived next to them, our own child on the way. There was so much hope for a great future. My brother and I grew up poor, but we managed to work our way through and live normal lives. Then, we get word that a street gang will be meeting with us. I didn't believe it, there was no way that some random group of ruffians had something to do with us. So that day, I took my nephew here for a routine check-up, since my brother was too busy with his own kids and my wife was helping them out. But, I get back to see a massacre before me. Bullet wounds adorning the heads and bodies of my brother, his wife, my wife, the children. It was horrifying. I can still hear the rev of the engines as that gang drove away from the scene of the crime. I can't even begin to imagine the look of fear in their eyes as their lives were stolen from them for no good reason. The only one I have left is my small nephew here. He and I are the only ones to carry on the Safar name.” he finishes, slightly jostling the baby still.

Louis tries to watch the middle-eastern man speak, yet his eyes keep drifting to the baby in his arms. From his love and experience with babies, he can tell that it looks severely malnourished and it appears as if it has run out of tears to cry. He has never seen such an unhappy baby.

The man steps back into the line of people, the baby makes small sounds that sound similar to the whines of a puppy. Everyone else in the line shoot dirty looks toward the source of the noise. The last man in the line does not move his head though. He stares down at the ground in shame.

“Thank you, Abdul. Hey Giovanni, why don't you share something?” Nick prompts, the smile still eerily plastered onto his face. 

The last man tip-toes forward, his face hard yet his movements timid. He looks like a man that's just been caught doing something he shouldn't have. 

_“Harry Styles è un mostro . Ha bisogno di morire adesso.”_ he says quipped.

Louis looks on with confusion. He does not speak Italian, but he can guess what this man wants based upon the other people who have spoken before him.

“Man of few words, you are.” Nick says, his hand on his cheek and his elbow on his knee.

Silence fills the room as everyone stares ahead. Nick with a wild grin, Louis with shock and confusion, and the rest of the people with hard-set eyes. They all look infuriated and ready to attack. The difference in numbers also makes Louis realize the major lack of chances he has of survival.

Louis looks around at the people surrounding him. This all doesn't seem real. There is no possible way that Harry could have done all of these things. All of these people have known Harry longer than Louis has, though. Wait...except for Stan.

“W-why is Stan here?” Louis hesitantly asks.

“Oh. Stanny-boy! Come on up and share with the group.” Nick prompts with a wicked smile.

Stan looks up at Louis, a cold stare directed his way. Louis has never seen him so expressionless. It almost looks as if years of friendship has been stripped away.

“You deserve more than that monster, Louis. I was informed of what he has done and what he plans to do. Louis, he's been manipulating you. You probably think that he's perfect. Louis, he's not. He is a monster, an animal. He seeks revenge where nothing has happened and he's been manipulating you for years.” Stan says, looking at Louis earnestly.

“He cannot have been. I have barely known him for less than a year.” Louis replies.

“No, Louis. You've known him way before that. You just don't want to remember. Do you possibly remember the wedding?” Stan asks.

“What wedding?” Louis asks back.

“The one where you met Harry.” Stan replies as if it's obvious.

“Stan, I've only been to, like, two weddings. I think I would remember meeting Harry at one of them.” Louis replies, almost forgetting the current situation.

“I don't think you knew his name back then. In fact, you only knew that he had dimples. That's all you called him.” Stan replies.

“I'm telling you that I don't remem-” Louis stops as he realizes something.

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“Louis, promise me that you will just stay in one place?” Jay asks, helping Louis with his small tie.

Louis rolls his eyes at this.

“Mom, I'm nine years old. I can handle myself by now.” Louis reassures his mother, swatting away his hands.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that means you can go and take care of your little sisters, since you're so grown up.” Jay replies, putting her hands on her hips.

Louis makes a face and shakes his head, resulting in Jay laughing and patting his shoulder.

“Just make sure that you don't wander too far off.” Jay says, before being called away.

Louis shrugs her off and then promptly wanders off. He doesn't even know this lady. Jay says that she's some friend from a long time ago. He just knows her as police lady. She arguing with Jay over wearing her police pin when Louis met her. She seems nice enough.

The wedding is taking place on the top of a hill. A hill that is perfect for running down. Louis knows what to do.

A few quick tumbles and plenty of grass stains later, Louis is fully out of breath. He lies on his back to catch a break and stares up at the clouds. He glances from side to side to check for anybody else, then he notices that there is someone else. He sees a sitting figure on the side of the hill. They're hiding their face so Louis can't really tell who it is.

Louis gets up and sneaks across the hill and toward the person. The figure becomes larger and larger as he gets closer. The sound of the water at the bottom of the hill creates a calm mood and Louis feels excited to see who the new person is.

Louis gets to the person, and sees that he's wearing a nice suit and his brown curls look nice. He doesn't hear any noise from the person, so maybe he's just lonely. Yeah, he just needs someone to talk to him.

Louis needs something to talk to him about. He spots a small patch of flowers off the side. They're not the prettiest of flowers, but they suffice. Louis picks out a handful of them and bundles them into a bouquet. He clears his throat and tries to keep a calm voice.

“Do you want these flowers?” Louis asks the stranger, holding out the bundle of flowers.

The boy lifts up his head to look at the source of the voice. Louis puts on his widest grin to greet the boy. Blue eyes look at green eyes and Louis is enchanted. The boy with curly hair looks tired and his face lacks any emotion. He stares straight into Louis' soul with how hard his stare is.

Louis starts to fidget as he becomes uncomfortable under the boy's stare.

“I mean, you don't have to take them if you don't want them.” Louis says, trying to ease the boy's stare.

Louis is surprised as he feels the older boy's hand wrap around his and then take the small bouquet of not-so-great flowers.

“Thanks” he says, looking down at the falling petals. Louis takes this as initiative to sit down next to him and that they are now friends.

“So why are you at Miss Anne's wedding?” Louis asks, playing with the grass below him.

“I'm her son.” he replies, also looking down.

“Then why aren't you up there?! Where the wedding is about to start!” Louis exclaims.

Harry just fixes a look on Louis as if to point out that he is also not up where he is supposed to be.

“Oh...but, you're like, the son of the bride and stuff. You **have** to be up there.” Louis replies. 

“You're right, but I don't like the groom entirely.” Harry states, looking out beyond the hill that they are sitting on.

“What's wrong with him? Is he mean?” Louis asks timidly.

“You can say that. But my mother still wants to marry the bastard.” Harry says back.

Louis covers his ears in shock. He's heard that word used before, but he knows that he's no supposed to use it. Harry notices his shock and lets out a small chuckle, which results in two dimples popping out on his cheeks.

Louis forgets about everything happening around him and pokes a finger into a dimple. Harry deepens his smile at this, at the innocence of a child. He remembers back when things like stranger danger and personal space weren't all too much of an issue in his life.

“Well, you haven't told me your name. So, my name's Louis. And your name is now Dimples.” Louis says, still staring at the dimples.

Harry laughs at this and slightly nods his head.

“I can handle that name. Now, why don't you and I go back up to the ceremony. I'm sure that your mother is looking for you.” Harry says, trying to help the smaller boy up.

Louis nods at this and gets up at the same time as Harry. When he gets up, he realizes that his head comes up to Harry's chest. Being the oldest and all, he is not entirely used to talking with someone so tall that isn't a meanie or an adult. But, he finds that there is a sense of comfort with being friends with such a tall person.

Harry starts to walk up the hill faster than Louis can, so Louis hurriedly runs up to him and grabs his hand. Harry smiles down at their intertwined hands and shakes his head fondly.

“You're going to be a real heart breaker someday, Louis.” Harry says, looking up the hill.

“No, I'm not. But I will steal your heart.” Louis says, knowing that he's heard that line used on tele before.

Harry looks back at Louis, knowing that he doesn't entirely realize the implications of what he has said. 

“I'm sure you will.” Harry replies.

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“Turns out that Anne married her abusive boyfriend, much to Harry's horror. That's why he's turned into such a monster.” Stan says, as Louis comes back to the current situation.

He completely forgot about that interaction and never made the connection between Harry and Dimples. Maybe Harry did, but there is no way that Harry could remember Louis' name from that small interaction.

“How did the chief of police marry an abusive man?” Louis questions.

“Love makes you blind, Louis. You of all people should understand that.” Stan replies, looking at Louis with distaste.

Louis looks down at his tied limbs, trying his best to not believe a word that they are saying. Harry's not a monster. He was even a sweetheart to some strange little kid. 

It is a little weird that they know about-wait.

“How did you know that I met Harry all of those years ago. We were the only two people there.” Louis asks further.

“Harry talks in his sleep, Louis. In great detail might I add. He even answers questions.” Nick says for Stan, grinning at Louis.

“Then, how do you know that Harry said that in his sleep?” Louis questions.

“Oh, I'm sure that you don't want to know the answer to that question, honey. Just know that your boyfriend has had quite a few...intimate partners.” Nick says, licking his lips.

Louis is only more grossed out than before. He doesn't want to imagine it, but he can't help himself. 

“Don't worry about it, Louis. You get to be his last. As I'm pretty sure he won't get another bone in before we end up killing him.” Nick reassures Louis.

This makes Louis rattle in his constraints and his eyes gain a fiery glare.

“Harry is not dying tonight! I won't let you bastards touch him!!” Louis yells, glaring at the lot of them.

“Oh Louis, I don't think you can do much of anything in this situation.” Nick says, getting down from his stool.

“Actually you're quite,” Nick says, stroking down Louis' chest.

“vulnerable” he whispers into Louis' ear.

Louis tries to hit him away, but is pulled back by his own restraints. Nick laughs at this sad effort and looks down at Louis.

“There's no saving you now, Louis. The time has come and you get a front row seat.” Nick says, smiling out at the people before him.

“Now, my people. Why don't you leave Louis and I alone for some...private time.” Nick asks the group.

Louis watches as they leave the room, all except for Nick, in horror. Louis feels Nick's hands creep down his back and he looks up at the ceiling. 

“Please, Harry...help me.” Louis whispers to anyone that can hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...I'm not dead. I'm almost finished with the whole story. I'm going to say there's about four to five more chapters. Then, I'll probably post bonus chapters because I am love with this little universe that I created. I don't know.
> 
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	19. A Visit From an Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am an asshole who never updates, so here are two chapters.

Liam rides along the streets of London, his hands slipping a little on the wheel from sweat. His own nervousness taking over him. He needs to see Zayn, he absolutely has to. For his own sanity and for the sake of Louis. He absolutely knows that Zayn convinced Louis to avoid them and that is bad news for him.

Plus, Liam really fucking misses Zayn. One doesn't just get over somebody like that. No matter how abrupt his exit or how long he was gone, Liam thought of Zayn and how much he misses him. 

He cannot live another day knowing that they have such resentment. Even if Zayn throws him out competely, Liam just wants to see him again.

The reality of what he is about to do only hits him deeply when he slows to a stop in front of his apartment. He snagged the address from Ed's research and made his way here. He will admit, it is pretty run-down. Zayn never really bought a place of his own before this place. He knows that he stayed with friends when he was in America, from um...research that was totally legal. He also knows that the only place he stayed at before staying at Liam's was his family's home.

Liam turns off the ignition and peaks his head around to check the streets. A neighborhood like this is no place for his Zayn...um....Zayn to live. 

Liam shakes his head and gets off of the bike. He sets his helmet behind himself and slowly makes his way up the rickety stairs. The door to the place is chipped all over and looks like it will break at a simple knock. Liam takes a deep breathe and knocks on the door.

He waits with bated breathe as the door sits stagnant in front of him. Then, he hears movement. He hears the sounds of locks being unlocked one by one. Then, the door slowly opens and he is graced by his favorite voice.

“Listen, I said that I would get the money to you late-oh.” Zayn stops talking and looks up at Liam.

Liam looks it Zayn as fully as he can. He looks more tired than he used to be, his newly-blonde hair only highlighting his dark circles. He also has a nose piercing that rather compliments his delicate features. He is also donning a beard that rivals Liam's own facial hair. Gone is the boy he used to love, now a man stands in his way.

Liam can see the gear turning in Zayn's head before he goes to slam the door shut. Liam quickly shoves his shoe in the doorway to prevent him from closing it all the way. Zayn tries to close the door anyway and Liam reaches forward to pry it open. It turns into a small battle of shutting or opening the door.

“Please, just hear...me out.” Liam says, out of breathe as Zayn shows surprising strength.

“No! Leave me alone!” Zayn shouts back.

“Please! Louis is back with Harry and I wanted to just talk to-” Liam feels as the door is let loose and he falls onto his butt.

“Louis went back to Harry?” Zayn asks quietly, standing in the open doorway and looking down at Liam.

Liam pushes himself back up and brushes his hands onto his trousers, his face a little red in embarassment.

“Yes. He saw that we really aren't that bad of a group and you would too if you would just let me talk to you.” Liam finishes by crossing his arms.

Liam instantly regrets his angered tone as he watches Zayn become more sad. He preferred angry Zayn than this. He doesn't like seeing his angel looking like this. 

Liam is about to turn and walk away with an apology when Zayn speaks up.

“You can...come in. I promise that I'll hear you out. But,” Zayn holds up a finger to Liam's face, “If I don't like what I hear, then you are going to leave me completely alone!” Zayn finishes.

Liam nods enthusiastically.

“Of course! I promise.” Liam even crosses his heart for emphasis.

Zayn nods at this and walks into his apartment, leaving the door open for Liam. Liam walks through the doorway and closes the door behind him. He is instantly hit by the scent of cigarrettes and weed as he steps into the apartment. He scrunches up his nose and steps further into the apartment.

“Sorry for the mess. I never really expected anybody else to...visit.” Zayn says from further inside the apartment.

And if that isn't the saddest thing that Liam has ever heard. He steps further in and avoids stepping on any pizza boxes or shattered wine bottles. He enters through an archway that opens to a type of living room. The couches look lived-in and the television doesn't look like it's from this century, but nonetheless, Zayn makes it all look a little better. He is perched on one of the couches and puts the ash tray from the couch onto a table to make room or Liam. 

Liam nods in thanks and sits himself down onto the couch. This place is a mess and it doesn't look like anything that Zayn would want to live in. Zayn isn't snobbish, but he loves to have art and style in anyplace that he lives. This place's walls are only decorated by stains and glass shards sticking out.

“You wanted to talk, so, talk.” Zayn says, pouring himself a glass of wine out of nowhere.

“Oh..um...alright,” Liam clears his throat, “I was hoping to understand why you left. You didn't leave anytype of explanation or anything.” he says.

Zayn slams down the bottle at this, making Liam flinch. He looks over at Liam and picks up the glass. He throws the wine back quickly before looking at him again.

“I'm pretty sure that you could inference as to why I decided to leave the country.” Zayn replies bitterly.

Liam winces at the reminder and looks pleadingly at Zayn.

“Zayn, I want to say this as politely as I can, but a person doesn't leave their fucking homecountry and travel across the ocean because of one gunshot wound.” Liam says back, becoming more frustrated.

“It wasn't just the fucking bullet!” Zayn yells back, punctuating his sentence with a swig of the wine bottle.

“Then what was it!? Tell me what tore what I thought...” Liam's voice goes a little softer, “what I thought was the most beautiful relationship I have ever seen.” Liam asks.

Zayn suddenly throws the wine glass against the wall, only forcing it to join the other shards. Liam jumps back quite a bit at the sudden outburst. Zayn has a certain fury in his eyes that he wishes wasn't directed at him.

“Beautiful relationship? Is that what you called it?! Because I don't think that a person in a beautiful relationship would let the other person get hurt! And no, I didn't leave the fucking country because of a fucking bullet. I left because that was only the beginning. You couldn't even protect me from one gunshot. How would you protect me from anymore?! That bullet was only the tip of the iceberg on what would be my fear of living alongside the deadliest men in Britain.” Zayn explains, varying in calm speech and shouting.

Liam looks at Zayn, both of them having ended up in standing positions. Liam immediately notices that they have taken a sort of fighting stance and he hates it. He sits himself right back down to make sure that Zayn knows that he is in charge of this situation.

“Zayn, do you honestly think that I would let you get killed?!” Liam asks exasperatedly.

“I can't say that you would be able to do too much. Harry even said that you were becoming too distracted. Maybe you were thinking too much about that brunette.” Zayn says, crossing his arms defensively.

This accusation makes Liam incredibly angry. His nostrils flare completely and his biceps bulge intensely. Zayn sees this and gets a little intimidated, but tries his best to hide it.

“Zayn, you are going to listen to me right now. I became so distracted at the time because I was so busy trying to figure out how to propose to you. Yes, I had a fucking ring in my back pocket. I would never had let you die in my sight and I never thought of another person the way that I thought-no. The way that I still think about you. Is it so hard for you to realize that I truly love you?!” Liam yells back.

Zayn sits down angrily at this, his own resolve slightly fading.

“I don't think that a person that loves me that much would have let that happen to me.” he mumbles out.

Liam only becomes more furious. He kneels down and forces Zayn to face him by pulling on his chin. His eyes stare into Zayn's with a certain intensity that shakes Zayn to the core.

“Don't you dare think that I regret every single event that led to that incident. I wasn't strong enough at the time to protect you. I have been training every single day since to be able to protect you fully. I have been preparing myself to keep you safe for the rest of your life. I love you more than anything and don't you think for a second that I don't worry about you.” Liam explains, staring straight into Zayn's eyes the whole time.

Zayn shocks Liam a bit more by suddenly wrapping his arms around him. The hug surprises Liam, but he instinctively wraps his arms around Zayn's waist. He relaxes into the embrace and presses his face into Zayn's neck. He finally feels like he is where he belongs, and it feels so good.

“I'm sorry.” Zayn whispers out.

“Shh. It's okay.” Liam reassure Zayn by rubbing his back.

“But you do know that I still don't forgive you entirely yet.” Zayn continues.

Liam smiles at this and shoves his face into Zayn's shoulder.

“I know. I am prepared to grovel at your feet everyday.” Liam replies.

Zayn smiles at this too and they both enjoy their moment of happiness. It has been too long for both of them to be apart. It was too drastic of a change to be connected at the hip and then suddenly separated by the ocean for the two.

“You also know that I am not going to let you live here right?” Liam says, pulling back.

“I think it's cozy.” Zayn replies back.

Liam just shakes his head and goes in to kiss his Zayn for the first time in forever when his phone starts ringing. He pulls back and groans. Zayn chuckles at him and sits back. Liam grimaces in apology before pulling out his phone. 

He looks at it curiously to see that Ed is actually calling him, it must be bad.

Zayn watches on as Liam's face morphs into various emotions as he speaks to Ed. He ends the call with a curt farewell and worry etched into his features. Zayn looks at Liam curiously.

“Louis has been kidnapped by Nick.” Liam tells him quickly.

Zayn stands up at this and feels a sweat break out on his body. He doesn't even want to imagine what could happen to Louis under the care of creepy Grimshaw.

“Well, let's go!” Zayn shouts out, heading for his front door.

Zayn is held back by a hand on his wrist and glances back at Liam in irritation. He already knows what he is about to say.

“I don't give two fucking shits what you care about safety, Payno. My best friend has been kidnapped and I need to save him. You should come along too.” Zayn says before Liam can even open his mouth.

Liam nods in understanding and follows Zayn out of the door. They run down to where Liam's bike is. Zayn goes to hop on the back and feels something put on his head. He reaches up to feel that it is his helmet that he would always wear on rides with Liam. He can't believe that Liam has kept the helmet with him this whole time. Liam smiles back at this and hooks on his own helmet.

“You sure you want to risk it?” Liam asks, just to make sure.

“Yes, I am sure. Plus, why would I let my fiancé go alone?” Zayn asks back.

Liam almost cries in happiness and almost forgets about the task at hand. He smiles at Zayn and straddles the bike. Then, they are off. Liam following the directions that Ed told him and Zayn worrying about his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that is "Louis's hand" instead of "Louis' hand", but I'm too lazy to go in and fix it throughout the entire story. So I might be wrong, but I'm consistently wrong!  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	20. Horrible Things Happen to Good People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like Nick Grimshaw...

The scenery flies past as the guys zoom down the streets. They ignore any person that is in their way, just needing to get to where they need to be. 

Harry can't shake off this horrid feeling on his back. As if something is going to go wrong. Something just feels out of place and it doesn't help that Louis isn't in his care to keep safe. Louis is with his most trusted men, but Harry still can't shake off the feeling.

They pull up to a sort of abandoned warehouse in the backstreets of London. Niall slowly climbs off of his bike, checking out the area with caution. Harry does the same, checking to make sure that his guns are all accessible yet well-hidden.

Niall looks into Harry's eyes for the go ahead, before Harry nods and they both head in. There is one large empty space, nothing displaying any type of danger. The room is actually void of anything really, which raises more suspicion than before.

Only the sounds of dripping water echoes through the vacant space. It only has the light from outside to reveal the rust rising on the abandoned building. There is no trace of anybody ever even being here.

Niall and Harry look at each other, guns raised, with confusion. They venture a little further, trying to find any type of reason onto why there were reports of Grimshaw here. The call was from one of Harry's men. He said that he spotted a grimmy member entering into this facitlity with a suspicious case and other followed. He even reporting sighting a little bit of Grimshaw himself. 

The deadly silence is broken by the sounds of screams. More importantly, Louis' screams.

Harry recognizes Louis' voice immediately.

“Louis?! LOUIS!!” Harry shouts, following the sound of the screams.

Niall is hot on his tail as they start a sprint. The sounds lead them to a doorway, which is heavily locked. Harry doesn't have time to pick locks though, so he just sends one heavy kick to the handles. The door falls in submission, with Harry sprinting right over it.

Harry looks around with crazy eyes before his eyes fall upon a laptop. The laptop is where all of the sounds are coming from. Harry lowers his gun and kneels in front of the device. There is no visual, just the looped sounds of Louis screaming. It doesn't help that the occasional shout of Harry can be heard too.

“DAMMIT!” Harry shouts, slamming his foot into the ground.

The black case that the laptop must have been carried in from is sitting underneath it. It dons the signature Grimshaw mark, the one that Louis regretfully wore on his head not so long ago. Harry can't make sense of any of this and looks to Niall.

Niall looks back in confusion. This doesn't make se-Louis was taken.

The idea dons on both of them at the same time. They both break out into a sprint to their bikes, but they have no idea where to go. Niall voices this to Harry.

“We can fucking go to his flat or something. I don't know!” Harry whines, frustrated that something could be happening to his Louis without him.

He should have seen all of the signs. The hat was the most obvious clue, but the total lack of activity and the attempt on stealing Louis from Niall. It must have been to get to Harry. Grimshaw just can't seem to get over himself enough and has resorted to getting to Harry's heart.

They are once again interrupted, a large white van comes screeching before the two of them. The back doors slam open to reveal Ed and all of his tech equipment. He is hunched over and typing at lightning speed. He snaps his head around to look at the other boys. 

“Boys, c'mon. I was able to track Louis' location. Liam and Zayn are already on their way.” Ed hurriedly says to the boys.

“Zayn, too?!” Niall asks out loud.

“They kissed, made up, and now we have places to go. Let's not doddle.” Ed answers back, shutting the doors of the van behind him.

Niall and Harry nod quickly at this and hop onto their bikes. They are suddenly speeding through streets and closely following the large white van. They ignore anything that pertains to the law and speed to their destination.

Soon enough, Liam catches up to them and is biking alongside them with Zayn on the back of his bike. Harry is too worried over Louis to even appreciate the replica of the way that their gang used to be. The days of saving the innocent and gaining revenge on the prowlers who sought horrid acts in the night.

Zayn is grasping tightly onto Liam's torso, however he does not look as scared as he used to be. He looks more infuriated than anything and he has a determined look in his eyes. 

The men look absolutely terrifying as they tear through the roads and somehow make it to their destination in under twenty minutes. They don't stop at a building this time, instead the van halts in front of a large brush of plants. The road stops at the wooded area and no sights from the other side peak through the thick foliage.

Niall swings off of his bike and stares at the plants with a sneer.

“They took him into the woods?” Niall asks, picking at a hanging branch.

Liam and Zayn both swing off of their bike as well. Liam helps Zayn with a gentle hand on his lower back and Zayn nods in thanks.

“No, you idiot. There must be something in there.” Liam walks over and whacks the back of Niall's head.

Niall takes off his helmet and appallingly looks at Liam. Harry, meanwhile, swings off his bike and walks over to the van. He cracks open the back to reveal Ed still at work. Numbers and rough blueprints popping up on the screens.

“Payno is right. I'm afraid to say that you four will have to leave the bikes behind and venture into the wilderness. We suspect that HQ is hidden in there.” Ed says to them.

Harry nods at this, his face not changing from the angered state it is stuck in. He looks worse than when he joined the group at his young age.

“Here, these are tracking and communication devices. They'll enable me to help you guys out when you get in. I was able to pull up the blueprints of his headquarters, but I'm afraid I have no goddamn idea how to get there. I can also disable a few security cameras at a time without causing suspicion.” Ed quickly explains, holding out four headpieces.

Harry snatches the devices and tosses them to the others. They slip them on and turn them all on. Ed nods when he sees their names and locations pop up onto his screens. 

“Okay, you guys are on your own until you get to the guarding fence. Until then, best of luck to you boys. Please bring our Louis back unscathed.” Ed says to them, turning his body to face them.

Niall smiles at this and looks over to the others. Zayn and Harry still look intensely determined, but Liam seems to have his emotions more in check. They would not want emotions taking over rationale in the moment of action.

Harry begins the descent into the brush. He quickly pushes the annoying brush out of the way and Niall follows suit with Zayn and Liam in tow. They make their way through and keep pushing.

“Harry, do you honestly not see anything that could be...headquartery?” Niall asks after about ten minutes of constant hitting from the branches Harry pushes away.

“For fuck's sake Niall, I think I could tell if it was smack dab in front of m-oof.” the wind gets knocked out of Harry as he runs into a fence.

The boys all gather and look at the tall fencing that blocks them. Harry quickly tries to climb it before Liam smacks his hand down. Liam picks up a branch and throws it a little above where Harry's hand was. They all watch as the branch gets singed into the electric wiring running across the top section of the fencing.

“Good job, guys. You made it to the borders. I should be able to turn off the electrical current running through the wires along the fence. When I do, climb as fast as you fucking can.” Ed explains into their headsets.

They all wait for the cue before scaling the wall. They all easily make it over before their hands and bodies get singed. They land on hard concrete, but luckily it has smaller bushes to break their falls.

“Alright, you guys are in. I can lead you to where we suspect that Louis is being held, but first you have to unlock the gates from inside. We need to get more people in so that we don't have four guys against practically an army. I believe in you guys, but not that much. Here, I'll lead you, but keep your weapons ready in case you run into a guard. Just, try not to bring too much attention.” Ed says into their ears.

Harry cocks his gun and holds it up, with the other following suit. They begin to make their way through a side window that leads into a kitchen. From there, Ed leads them through twists and turns down halls and through strange rooms. They face minimal confrontation, only the occasional guard and member that they quickly just knock out. No bullets have been used and the mission is going a bit too well. 

With that thought, Harry opens a door only to face a room full of guards. One turns and sees them before he begins shouting. All of the other guards begin shouting and attacking the guys. It starts a fight bigger than the room that they're contained in.

“Zayn!” Liam shouts as he sees Zayn being attacked by guys much bulkier than him.

A man goes to stab at Zayn and Zayn holds up his arms to block him. Zayn is barely quick enough and the blade nearly grazes him. The man goes for another stab and it is as if life goes in slow motion.

Liam lunges to go in front of Zayn, the blade buries itself into his thigh as he protects Zayn. Zayn stares worriedly at Liam as he watches his love get stabbed for him. They both quickly tag team it and knock out the men around them. 

“Zayn, I can block you as you run into that doorway. It leads to a hallway that leads to the control room. Ed can guide you. You have to trust me.” Liam explains, hitting men away.

“I do trust you. You saved me this time.” Zayn explains with a small smile on his face.

Liam smiles back and they share a quick kiss. They go back into their fighting stances and Zayn hides against a wall and behind Liam. Liam protects Zayn as Zayn makes his way to the door. Zayn takes one last look before disappearing behind the door.

There are surprisingly no men in the hallway, it seems as if almost the entire guard team is in that room. 

“Zayn, good to see that you made it out. You need to sprint down this hall and take a left. The third door on you right is your door.” Ed explains into his ear.

Zayn quickly makes his way to the room and bursts in through the door. Nothing seems to be harshly guarded or locked in this place. It seems almost tacky in how awful Grimshaw's headquarters are.

While Zayn starts following Ed's instructions on unlocking the complicated gate system, Harry is busy fending off burly men. They all seem to have no real training in their moves. They all just have a mob mentality of fighting without thought until something happens.

A gunshot is fired into the group of men. Niall watches horrified as the bullet lands in Harry's ankle. He starts firing his own gun, taking out men by the grouping due to their close proximity to him. It all goes awry and he finds no end in sight.

There is just shouting and gunshots and more shouting. Men are dying on the ground while others are turning insane. It seems that it only took one breach for the entire security system to fall apart. The men are shouting and swinging at nothing in particular.

Harry barely has any time to register what is changing before he feels pain in the back of his head. He feels his body hit the ground, but nothing else. The world around him fades into darkness and silence.

Zayn feels the same sensations at the same time. His own body being brought down by the force of another man. He watches from below as the man punches him in the head.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Louis watches horrified as Nick takes off his pants and shirt in front of him. His face is pulled into a malicious grin that forces shudders out of Louis. 

“I would untie you, you know. Let you enjoy it a bit more, but I just love how your body looks when you struggle against these constraints.” Nick pulls at the bindings around Louis' wrists.

Louis feels hot tears start to drip down his cheeks and he squeezes his eyes shut, knowing that the sight before him might force him to vomit.

“Now, now. No need to cry, sweetie. I'll make you feel much better.” Nick grabs at Louis' knees to pry them apart.

Louis tries his best to squeeze his thighs together, but the drugs from before still haven't worn off completely. He still feels a slight haziness and is completely helpless against the clearly stronger man.

Nick starts to put wet kisses along Louis' neck, making Louis feel dirtier than ever. Nick's tongue seems to be all over Louis' collarbones and his movements are sloppy. He makes his way down Louis' body and take a glance at his trousers. He looks up at Louis in glee before ripping them off.

Louis cries more and looks away from the sight. Nick makes his way back up to Louis' neck and wraps his hands around Louis' bum. It feels so wrong and Louis feels more terrified than when gunfire was facing him. He would rather face a thousand bullets than have this man touch him anymore.

“I have been waiting for this for so long. Ever since I saw you at the wedding.” Nick whispers into Louis' ear.

Louis shivers horrifically to this.

“H-how...did you see m-me at-t a wedding?” Louis stutters out confusedly.

“Oh sweetheart, I was there too. Don't you remember?” Nick asks.

Louis stares at Nick with complete confusion. 

Their conversation is cut short by a man bursting in through the doors. He looks fairly smug and scary.

“For the love of god! I told you that nobody will interrupt me! Did I not!?” Nick shouts at the man.

“Mr. Grimshaw, I think that you will appreciate this. We have caught them. They are here.” he says as if he is revealing a fantastic secret. 

“You don't mean...” Nick quiets down with a hopeful look to the man, completely ignoring that his pants are down to his ankles.

“Yes. Harry, Liam, Niall, and some other guy are all here and we have captured them.” he nods excitedly to Nick.

Louis looks down to the ground. He knows that this is his fault. They came here to rescue him and now they are going to be hurt. 

“Oh, good. That's good...” Nick wanders off again, as he starts waddling to the door.

Nick and the man both disappear behind the door, leaving Louis all alone. Louis can only feel more and more fear creep up on his neck. This stupid, weird man has the string of his life in his fingers and seems to be just waving around the deadly scissors. He obviously has some deep-seated issues with Harry and managed to recruit all of these people that also don't quite like Harry. Which Louis loves Harry so much, but he can't help but believe some of the stories. There can't be that many people who are lying with such conviction.

Louis lifts his head as he hears the door open back up. Grimshaw is walking back in, he seems to have adjusted himself. He saunters over to Louis and stops right in front of him.

“I almost forgot about you, not that hard to do really. But I think that you would like to watch this.” Nick announces.

He quickly grabs the back of Louis' chair and begins to drag his chair behind him. The chair scraping against the ground causes the worst sounds and Louis has no way of shielding his ears. Louis watches from behind as he leaves the room that he was kept in and is dragged down a hallway.

Nick is speaking in insane mumblings as he scrapes Louis along behind him. His mouth constantly moving but nothing incoherent is coming out of his mouth. Louis watches as they pass through a doorway, leading to a more open room. His chair is flipped around to reveal Harry, Niall, Liam, and Zayn tied up and in gags.

Louis gasps at the sight of them. They all look more pathetic than ever and they all have varying emotions in their eyes. Louis cannot grasp the scene before him, as the strongest men that he has seen sit helpless on the ground. Harry looks the worst of all, a small pool of blood behind him.

Louis feels that there are no words for him to say without ripping at the seams. He regrets his wishes for Harry to be here, as he now realizes that no matter how strong they are, they cannot infiltrate the main spot of a rival gang. He can only stare in astonishment and sadness at his love and his friends tied up on the ground.

“Well isn't this a happy reunion. I gotta say, this kid right here,” Nick kicks the bottom of Louis' stool, “must be pretty fucking important.” he grins down at them.

“Now, as much as I would love to see all of you writhe in pain and see your lives being sucked out of you...I won't. I have something more fun planned.” Nick announces to them.

He rubs his hands together maniacally and eve lets out a little chuckle that makes him sound more evil than ever. A few men step in and drag everyone away except for Harry, leaving Nick, Louis, and Harry alone in the room.

“Styles, I have some people that I would like you to talk to...” Nick drifts off and steps back.

A man steps up to Harry and tears his gag out of his mouth. Harry doesn't take the opportunity to speak, but the deadly glare toward Nick speaks enough. With that, all of the people from before step in. They all are still wearing their dark clothes and none of them look too happy to see Harry.

Harry glares at all of the people stepping in. Harry does take a glance at Louis every now and then, his eyes giving mixed emotions of horror and concern. Louis can only look back in desperation. 

Nick pulls forward yet another stool, as he always seems to grab one out of nowhere. He scrapes it against the floor and pulls it up next to Louis. He also places a strong grip onto Louis' shoulder which Harry definitely does not miss. 

“Why don't you all take a whack at Harry?! I'll call it a Harry Pinata game!” Nick practically screeches out, his own sanity completely leaving him.

Nick's grip on Louis' shoulder is strong enough to leave bruises. Louis winces in pain and also at seeing the people start to close in on Harry. They all seem to be excited and are whipping around various blunt weapons. Harry's glare to them is only accentuated by the blood and dirt stains on his face and under his eyes.

Harry doesn't say a word as Stan takes the first swipe. Harry isn't knocked down by the wooden bat, but he is physically hurt. The others join into the beating and Nick starts to laugh in enjoyment at the sight. Louis feels Harry's pain as he watches the man he loves become weaker and weaker. He cannot bear to even watch as he lowers his face.

“L-louis,” Harry stutters out from the ground.

Louis' head shoots up and he stares at Harry as he gets beaten into his back. It looks incredibly painful, yet the look he is giving Louis is so incredibly fearless.

“J-just know that-t I-ah!” Harry is cut off as a harsh weapon punches him in the back.

“Louis, I-I love you. M-more than you c-could imagine.” Harry struggles to speak out.

Louis' vision blurs as his eyes fill with tears. He cannot believe that Harry can be in this position and possibly think to reassure Louis.

“I love you, t-too.” Louis says back, choking on his tears.

“My turn!!” Nick yells out and stands up.

He grabs one of the weapons and reaches it up to swing it down onto Harry. Harry braces for impact and Louis squeezes his eyes shut in anticipation.

It is all interrupted by a polite knock on the door. 

“WHAT!? I'm always interrupted at the best par-” Nick is interrupted again by a bullet flying into the hand holding the bat.

He screams out in pain and crumbles to the ground. Louis cannot see what is behind him, but everyone else seems to be able to. The other people rush to shield themselves and end up getting shot in random limbs. They all fall to the ground in pain, their bodies circling around Harry's. Harry appears to be on the brink of unconsciousness.

“You okay, kid?” Louis hears from behind him followed by a soft hand on his shoulder.

Louis peers up to see James Corden standing beside him. The man from the park smiles down at him and he sees men behind him running to the other people. Louis imagines that he looks like a mess, but he can't find it in himself to care when a hero has come to save them.

“Here, let me take this off of you.” James walks behind Louis and takes off his bindings surprisingly quickly.

“Thank you.” Louis whispers out, rubbing his wrists.

“Guess I should have believed Max when he said that you're a secret spy. You managed to infiltrate the most secretive headquarters all on your own.” James says to Louis, kneeling down to his sitting level.

Louis smiles back slightly, still a little spooked from everything that has just happened. James manages to help Louis to his feet and helps him walk out of the room. Louis looks back to see men tending to Harry and tying up the others. He goes to walk back to where Harry is, but James stops him.

“Harry needs to be tended to right now. You can see him after he is all fixed up.” James reassures him with a hand rubbing his bicep.

Louis continues to walk out into the hallway and sees that Zayn, Liam, and Niall are all sitting up and untied. Louis sends a quick curious glance at Zayn and Liam, as they appear to be cuddling. They don't even notice Louis, but Niall appears to. Louis sits down next to Niall and looks at him.

“Lou, are...are you okay?” Niall asks as he slides an arm around his shoulders.

Louis shrugs at this which earns him a glare from Niall. He smiles back and cuddles into Niall.

“No, I'm not okay. But I definitely will be.” Louis replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note, one of my friends showed me an old fanfiction I wrote for her in elementary school. It was a Naruto fanfiction. My grammar was excellent but the content was awful. I don't think that I've changed much.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


	21. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone still there?

Minutes pass by, maybe even hours. Louis isn't able to keep track of time as he lays his head on Niall's shoulder and ignores everything around him. At some point, somebody wrapped him in a shock blanket which helped calm him down significantly.

Zayn and Liam both received blankets of their own as well, but they seem content on just sharing one. Zayn has severe bruising on his face and Liam keeps absentmindedly touching a spot on his torso. They both look worse for wear, yet they have massive grins on their faces as they cuddle close.

The blanket does nothing to shield the medics' conversations that drift out into the hallway. Louis could hear bits and pieces of the conversation. Only certain words making it to his ears.

“...severely bruised with internal bleeding...will he make it?...surprised he is still breathing...” the voices fade in and out with little pieces of conversation.

Louis can only bury himself further into Niall's shoulder, causing the blonde to just hold Louis tighter. His body catches up to his brain as he winds down slowly. Fatigue starts to set in and he can't control his limbs as they go lax. The motions from Niall's hands and the soft talking around him lulls him to rest his eyelids, only for a second.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Louis gets up not shortly after he felt his body starting to fall asleep. He tosses aside the blanket that sat around him and ignores Niall's pleads for him to sit back down. Louis brushes himself off and walks into the room with Harry inside.

The medics around him don't seem to notice him as they set into a deep panic. Harry's body looks awful and his face is barely moving. The men and women all rush around Louis, trying their best to fix whatever is happening. 

There is one man hunched over Harry, his outfit making it obvious that he is also a medic. With his head turned, he still appears to be in charge of the whole situation. He is shouting at the people, “-losing him!” and “-fucking move!” shooting like spitfire out of his mouth. 

Louis inches closer and closer to where they are, avoiding the workers as they run past. Harry has his eyes open, they glisten with unshed tears.

Louis kneels down next to where the man is, Harry turns his head to look at Louis. He doesn't say a word, his expression unreadable. Louis goes to say something, but he doesn't know what to say. He reaches a hand out to touch Harry.

However, his hand is pushed aside as a knife buries itself into Harry's abdomen. Harry only rolls his eyes back and Louis falls onto his butt in shock.

The man lets go of the knife, leaving embedded in Harry, and stands up. He rips off his medical mask and turns to Louis.

Louis gasps and tries to get himself up when he sees Nick Grimshaw stand in front of him.

“Miss me, sweetie?” he asks with a huge smirk on his face.

Louis just squeezes his eyes shut and pretends that he is somewhere else. This can't be happening. A random heart monitor suddenly appears next to him and blares out in one tone, signaling his death. Louis keeps his eyes closed and feels as hot tears cover his face again.

He thought that he was safe. All that he believed to be was wrong. 

“Don't be scared. I won't kill you. I just want some fun.” Nick's voice says from above Louis.

Louis feels as two arms wrap around him and hold him down. He starts to kick and scream as hard as he can. It feels useless against the strong arms that pin him below.

“...s-stop struggling...not...that strong...” the voice says from above Louis.

Louis just ignores it and keeps wiggling himself. 

“...Louis, please.” the voice says again.

“Louis” it repeats.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

“Louis!” the voice shouts out.

Louis shoots up into a seated position and abruptly opens his eyes. The cement walls are gone and the ground feels a lot softer.

Louis blinks a few times to clear out his vision. He sees cream-colored walls and white tile floors. There are distant sounds of talking, but they are mostly muffled by the glass door on the other wall. A puppy looks back at Louis from a picture frame. It is joined by other pictures of baby animals. 

Louis looks down to see that he is on a bed and there are two arms wrapped around his waist. He follows the path of the arms and sees that Harry is also in the bed with him with a concerned look on his face. Louis gasps out loud.

“Harry!” Louis practically squeals out before hugging Harry around his stomach.

Harry puts a hand on Louis' back and puts his cheek on his head. Louis nuzzles closer and he can feel the soft beating of Harry's heart, one of the most reassuring noises he has ever heard.

“I thought that I lost you.” Louis whispers into Harry's pectoral.

“I thought I lost you, too.” Harry whispers back.

Louis nuzzles for a moment longer before he realizes himself. Harry was injured...pretty badly. He is probably bruised and in a lot of pain. Louis pulls back from Harry upon this realization and ignore the hurt look on his face.

“I am so sorry. You must be in so much pain. I shouldn't lean on you like that...” Louis comments, his voice wandering off as he checks on Harry.

The boy is shirtless, so his bruises are on full display. There is also tape from bandages on his back that peak out on each side of his chest. He also has bandages on the back of his neck that wrap to each side of his throat.

Harry only pulls Louis back into his arms in response.

“Not being able to touch you hurts more than any injury I could have.” Harry says.

Louis rolls his eyes at the comment, Mr. Sentimental is rounding the corner. However, he kind of would be upset if he couldn't touch Harry either. Louis pulls up his pants, they are a bit big...wait.

“Who's pants am I wearing...wait. Who's shirt am I wearing.” Louis suddenly asks, peering down at his clothes.

Louis is wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Both items do not fit Louis properly and feel awfully baggy on him.

“Mine.” Harry answers, pulling on Louis' shirt.

“How did I get here?” Louis asks further, sitting up on the bed.

“The ambulance brought me here and Niall carried you in soon after I regained consciousness. You were still asleep, so I figured we could just cuddle for a while. Well, up until you started kicking and screaming. What was that about anyway?” Harry asks, looking up at Louis from his position.

“Um...I'll tell you about it later.” Louis rushes out, not wanting to think of what could have been.

“But-” Harry starts.

“Well, what about all of those people. How did you know them? Were they telling the truth?” Louis asks back, crossing his arms.

Harry seems to get annoyed from this questioning and looks away from Louis.

“I'll tell you about it later.” Harry answers back.

“Hey. You can't just repeat what I said! I need answers and I want themmm!” Louis is interrupted as Harry kisses his mouth.

Harry pulls Louis back down into the bed by the back of his neck and then breaks the kiss.

“We can have a question and answer session tomorrow. Until then, how's about we get some shut-eye?” Harry suggests.

“Fine.” Louis says.

Louis quickly adjusts himself so that his head is on Harry's chest and Harry pulls an arm around to rest on Louis' hip. Harry feels very warm and Louis feels more secure than he has in a while.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Beeps and distant footsteps are the chirping birds to Louis' morning. He tries to roll himself over onto his other side, but a force is holding him in place. Louis cracks open and eyelid to spot Harry's resting face right above his own.

A thought crosses Louis' mind that he could wake up to this every morning for the rest of his life and never get sick of it. The stress from the days before don't appear on Harry's sleeping face. 

Louis tucks himself further into Harry, grasping onto the moment of serenity like a lifeline. His own face is scrunched-up in a frustrated way. His mind is filled with questions that have no clear explanation. He also feels guilty over how much he pries into Harry's business. All he seems to do is ask question while pushing Harry away.

Louis only grips Harry tighter at the reminder of his past actions. Harry's body notices this and shifts at the sudden change. Louis watches in horror as Harry rolls himself slowly over top of his own body.

The smallest squeal escapes from Louis as Harry's larger body crushes his. Louis immediately begins losing circulation in his arms that are trapped under Harry's torso. While Louis doesn't want to disturb Harry's sleep, he is slightly concerned for his own safety.

“Harry.” Louis whispers out.

Not even a flinch on Harry's face appears. Louis, in this moment, remembers how extremely difficult it is to wake up the boy. However, he also remembers how to usually wake up Harry.

Louis mushes his lips against Harry's, reaching to wrap his arms around his neck but Harry's torso keeps them pinned to the hospital cot. Harry shifts slightly at this.

Louis shifts himself and tries to press his tongue into Harry's mouth. He succeeds quickly and explores further.

Louis becomes so invested in the one-sided kiss that he is fully surprised when Harry wraps his arms underneath him. Harry pulls Louis up so that he is sitting in Harry's lap.

Louis pulls away from the kiss after Harry pulls him back in a few more times. Louis looks at their position and smiles at Harry.

“Déjà vu. I swear that I am going to call you Snow White. The only thing that wakes you up is a kiss.” Louis teases.

“ **True love's** kiss it is. And there are other ways to wake me up. How do you think the boys would wake me up?” Harry replies.

“Brute force.” Louis answers back seriously.

“Well good morning beautiful.” Harry states before pecking Louis on the lips.

Louis gets this massive grin on his face that forces his eyes into small slits. Crinkles form in the corners of his eyes and his nose wrinkles up prettily.

“I'm not so sure that it is morning.” Louis replies back all smiley.

“It isn't morning. It's almost two in the afternoon.” Niall states while waltzing in.

Niall looks up from the ground as he walks in and his steps come to a halt. He looks at the position that Louis and Harry are in. An awkward silence fills the room and Niall seems to contemplate leaving them.

“Maybe I should come back when you two aren't...busy.” Niall starts walking backwards.

“Then you will never come back. They are always like that.” Ed says while strolling into the room.

He plops himself down in a chair next to the cot. Louis catches up to the situation and quickly attempts to climb out of Harry's lap to retain some dignity. Harry doesn't agree with this decision, though, and clamps Louis in place with a hand on his hip.

Ed remains unfazed and even pulls a laptop out of seemingly nowhere. Niall follows and sits next to Ed. He leans forward in his seat eagerly.

“How are you feeling, Louis?” Niall asks anxiously.

“What about me? I'm the patient here!” Harry interjects.

His words go unheard by Niall as he stares at Louis like an excited puppy. 

“I'm feeling alright. Nick never really hurt me...physically. I'm just glad that you guys got there when you did. I just have a few bruises on my shoulder.” Louis assures his friend.

Harry's gaze snaps to Louis.

“Bruises? He hurt you in other ways?! Louis...” Harry has a fierce concern in his eyes.

“I'll tell you about it later.” Louis brushes off.

“No. I would like to know now actually.” Harry says matter-of-factually.

“I would prefer to talk about it when we don't have an audience.” Louis says to the bed, his eyes downcast.

Harry stays silent in almost a surrender to Louis. He has his hands still holding onto some part of Louis, keeping that sense of presence with him even if he's not looking.

“When do you leave this place, Harry?” Niall prompts.

“I don't have a single idea. You're supposed to be the one to know that, aren't you?” Harry asks.

Niall only gives a shrug to this and turns back to Louis as if the conversation is over. Harry is not content with that.

“Wait. Then who signed me into the hospital? I need some type of trusted adult that would check me into the hospital since I was mainly unconscious.” Harry explains.

Niall shifts his eyes away from Harry, in a guilty sense. It is too obvious how uncomfortable he is to answer the question.

“Niall. Tell me. Now.” Harry demands, his patience wearing thin.

“Fine. Gemma, alright? Gemma checked you in. Now leave me alone.” Niall answers reluctantly.

Harry's demeanor shifts at this. He looks almost too upset or afraid. It is nothing like the dread that filled his eyes when he looked at Louis before, but there is still to much repulsion for him to be thinking of the person that Louis thinks he is.

“Gemma, that's your sister...right?” Louis asks, confused at the changed atmosphere.

Ed ignores the situation, but he also has a slight downturn to his lip now. All of the things that Louis has heard of Gemma has been great. He's even heard of Harry having to save his older sister, thus the bad atmosphere makes no sense.

Niall spares him the questions.

“Gemma is a bit...” he starts.

“Protective.” Harry finishes, staring at a random spot in the room.

“Well I'm protective of my siblings. Nothing wrong with a little protection, right?” Louis attempts to joke.

“Gemma is a whole other level.” Ed adds onto the conversation.

“Like what.” Louis says.

Niall looks to Harry.

“She does not like that I am in the...business that I am. She despises it actually. She has done so much to try and shut it down. Disgraced me in front of my men, taken the money that I earned for weaponry, she even tried to call the police on us. She is always one step behind though, never able to really catch us.” Harry says.

“That's not...too bad. But what is she going to do now? You are a patient in a hospital.” Louis says.

“That's the problem. Gemma thought that we stopped with everything. She thought that we had all gone clean and started our own bakery. That's all the bakery is for anyway. Well, that and for Harry to indulge in his baking dreams.” Niall says.

“I thought that the bakery was to avoid the police. Then they won't get suspicious when you state how much money you earn and that you don't have an actual job.” Louis states.

“The police don't tend to bother us. We keep the rats off of the streets and leave enough evidence to be able to identify the bodies. We do what they are scared or too dumb to do.” Niall replies.

“For a long time Gemma believed in this. But now, she's going to take one look at me and know that I wasn't admitted here for a severe kitchen catastrophe.” Harry adds.

“But what can she really do? Scold you?!” Louis asks loudly.

“No, worse. She's going to guilt him into getting out of the business. Gemma is a smart woman. One of the best detectives in Scotland Yard, in fact. She's going to walk in, see Harry, see the boy that he's gripping so desperately, and then use you as her reason that Harry shouldn't partake in the underground life anymore.” Niall answers.

“She's a detective, huh? Then she probably knew that you guys were behind all of those mysterious deaths of criminals on the run. _I_ even found out eventually through logic and reasoning.” Louis reasons with them.

“We can run the whole operation without getting a speck of blood on our hands. The missions would still go on without us going out there, which is what she wants. She could care less if we run the operations that we do, encourages that we do actually. She is part of the police force anyway. However it is the physical aspect that she so despises. She doesn't want us getting out there and committing the acts ourselves. Something about the risk or something.” Harry replies.

Louis nods in understanding. He couldn't even imagine the stress that he would go through if he found out that one of his younger siblings was going out every week into a spray of bullets and into a swarm of enemies. He would never let any of them leave the house let alone not live with him. He can sympathize of Gemma with that level, but the situation is a little different and she needs to know that. 

“Well, I'm sure that she'll be here any moment. I'm going so that I don't get scolded and feel like a child again. Ed, you coming?” Niall asks, standing up out of the plastic chair.

Ed nods and stands up, the computer going up with him. They both leave, Niall saluting the boys before letting the door shut behind him. The room loses the friendly air it had and now it feels as if Harry and Louis are the only two in the hospital.

“You shouldn't be scared of her. She won't do anything to you. She'd have to go through me.” Harry tries to comfort Louis.

“I'm not scared of her.” Louis says, “I'm just worried that she'll use me against you. I don't want her to make us feel like I'm holding you back.” 

Harry pulls Louis in closer at these words, his chin hooking over Louis' head.

“I would never think that. I love you.” Harry states.

“I love you, too.” Louis says into Harry's neck.

“Well isn't this a cute scene. Should I go and come back later?” a light voice states from the doorway.

Harry doesn't let Louis lift his head from where Harry's holding him. Louis really wants to see the woman face to face.

“Yes. Definitely go away, Gemma.” Harry replies.

“Is that the way that you treat your sister you haven't seen in so long?” she says back, feigning pain.

Louis can hear the clicking of boot heels and the screech of the chair legs as she walks over and sits herself down right next to them. His head is still held secure by Harry's strength. Louis doesn't like that Harry is protecting him like this.

“Where are your manners, Harry Edwards? Introduce me to this younger boy.” she says out loud.

Louis tries his best not to show how hurt he is by the way that she labels him. He is not _that_ little. 

Louis pushes as hard he can and manages to squeeze his head out from Harry's grip. The brighter light from the ceiling almost blinds Louis as he faces the world outside of Harry's throat. He blinks rapidly and turns to where he's heard the voice coming from. He wasn't expecting the kind looking girl in front of him.

Gemma dons a slight smirk as she surveys Louis the same way that he surveys her. He must look like a ruin according to her standards, as she is wearing an expensive looking button-up that Harry could probably be wearing. She also has on a myriad of bracelets and dark jeans with black boots. She looks seconds away from either knocking someone out or conducting a business meeting. 

“The boy that shattered Harry's universe. Louis, right? Since our Harry here seems be lacking in manners these days, however his current situation is a good enough excuse.” she states, her arms crossed in front of her.

Louis nods dumbly, words failing him as the intimidating aura from the girl hits him.

“Please, Gemma. You're scaring him.” Harry begs, not too seriously.

“That is the worst of his worries, my presence. Now Harry, dear brother, why are you in this hospital? I have to say it was quite the surprise hearing a call from the hospital so suddenly that my brother is bordering on death and I need to run over and sign papers. You should have seen yourself as you were wheeled out of that ambulance.” she prompts.

“Gemma, please. There was simply an accident.” Harry answers vaguely.

“Hmm. I wonder what kind of accident would cause wounds and bruises that could only be caused a blunt object repeatedly hitting you.” Gemma points out.

“Cut to the chase already.” Harry says frustrated.

“Louis, little question for you. You love Harry, right?”, which earns her another head nod. “Good. Now, imagine one day, Harry goes out. He just goes another one of his quests that he claims to his sister that he no longer does anymore, but he goes nonetheless. You wait at home for him, so excited for when your love will come home. However, he never does. He was killed in an 'accident' while he was out trying to be a hero when he could have just as easily had other people do the job for him.” Gemma says, her voice raising in volume as she goes.

“Gemma!” Harry shouts indignantly.

“Oh and it only gets worse. His mother is the head chief of the police, so she's probably first on the scene. Then comes his loving sister, head detective. Then more and more people come along that he has known since he could wiggle his toes. People that have loved him and protected him and protected back. They all get to see him, dead. Thanks to his own decision to go out there and risk his life, for what? Pride?!” Gemma practically shouts out, still staring down Louis the whole time.

“ **Gemma!** You leave him out of this. He has no part in this and you do not need to give him this imagery.” Harry states to his sister.

“But don't I? Because last I remember, I was watching you almost choke on your own blood while you tried to take down own of the biggest criminal mastermind in the history of Europe.” Gemma bites back.

“Do not say 'tried' when we took him down. Plus, you panicked. You probably remember it way worse than how it actually was.” Harry tells her.

“My memory serves me right and it tells me that I almost watched my dearest brother die.” Gemma nearly growls at him.

Louis looks back and forth between the two. From the way that they are speaking, one wouldn't think that she keeps telling him how dear he is to her. It is all one big misunderstanding and Louis is sick of miscommunication in his life.

“Why are you doing this?” Louis speaks up.

Gemma's eyes shoot back over to Louis, not having heard the boy speak before. Her pupils are ablaze but her attention his full.

“What?” she asks.

“Trying to get him to stop doing this, or even pressuring him through his significant other. Would you do the same for a significant other of a firefighter? Or of a police officer that you claim to know so well? They do the same job, sometimes with an even higher risk on their shoulders. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't walk up to the wife of a soldier and tell her that her husband is probably going to die. I would tell her that her husband is doing something great. That what they are doing is beneficial. What Harry does is actually almost guaranteed to be beneficial for the general public. He's a crime fighter with a higher success rate. He puts himself at risk because he knows what he is doing, and he genuinely wants to save other from the wrath of the awful. Do you even know why Harry is hurt right now?” Louis asks, staring at Gemma.

It is Gemma's turn to be silent as she slowly shakes her head in denial.

“Harry is here because he saved me. He saved my life. So, if you want to ask me again if I would Harry to go out there and do the same for others just because you don't trust his abilities, I will gladly answer.” Louis finishes.

Harry looks as if he is about to slow clap while he stares at his Louis in complete wonder. Gemma is left aghast as she stares at the boy who her brother has been smitten with since time itself was born. She also has a small smile on her face.

“I have to say Harry, you know how to pick them. You should give your younger self a pat on the back for remembering the people who would eventually be so important to you.” Gemma confesses, still staring at Louis.

Louis smiles back at Gemma, his face ready to burn red at the kind of compliment. However, the moment is ruined.

A nurse walks in with a small, folded pile of clothes in her hand. She also has a clipboard with her. She quickly walks around to the side of Harry's bed and doesn't pay any mind whatsoever to Louis.

“I'll take this as my leave. Be in touch, Harry. You know that Mum and Robin will want to meet him. Expect tears from Mum and Louis, you should probably invite your mother and family for the occasion.” Gemma says, standing up. “With that, heal up Harry. Don't rush what time can heal.” she says before walking out.

Gemma's words, though, seem to hold more weight to something other than the wounds decorating Harry's body.

The nurse is busily writing down numbers and phrases onto the clipboard while subtly checking things on Harry. She also places the pile of folded clothes next to Harry that he recognizes as his own clothes.

“All right, your vitals are in good condition. I am going to unhook you from your drip and you can go into the bathroom and change into more comfortable clothes. The clothes were brought by Mr. Horan and we had to wash them to avoid any outside bacteria harming your sensitive wounds. You can wear more comfortable clothes, but you still must stay here for another day. We just want to make sure that your healing process is in good progression so that you can leave.” the nurse says before taking the tubes out of Harry and leaving as quick as she came.

“They just want to milk Gemma's money for what it's worth. I'm sure it wasn't' cheap to get me this private suite. Extra day my ass.” Harry says out loud. 

Louis just smiles back at him. Harry hurriedly tries to get himself up and out of bed. It takes a little assistance, but he eventually regains the strength to get off of the bed and walk into the bathroom connected to the hospital suite.

“You could have just changed out here, you know.” Louis says a little loud so that Harry can hear him through the door.

“I kind of need to pee, too. Not easy to do out there.” Harry admits, making Louis laugh.

Louis looks to his right and he finds that Niall even left him his cellphone. Louis reaches over from the cot, and totally doesn't almost fall off of it, and grabs his phone. He turns it on and is surprised to only find a few notifications from his sisters and one from his mother. They're all pretty moderate too. Pictures of his younger siblings, updates on the neighborhood drama, random questions about Harry from Charlotte. 

Louis quickly replies to the messages and smiles as he feels the sensation he always gets when he interacts with his family. He could never imagine having even the slightest hostility or misunderstanding with his siblings that Harry had with his.

They must have also not known about what has happened in the past few days. Actually, last that Louis can remember, he hasn't spoken to any of them since Niall brought him back into London with him. They probably still think that Louis is moping about Harry and fighting with Sta-

Stan. Shit. 

Louis completely forgot about what had happened with all of those people. Blocked it out really. He sort of remembered last night, but he was a mess of a person back then, and still kind of is one now.

He needs to know who all of those people really are. There is explaining that needs to be done, but something in Louis knows that Harry would be reluctant to reopen those mental wounds. Louis trusts Harry enough to give him that time, though.

“You have your phone. Where's mine?” Harry asks as he walks out of the bathroom.

He is running a hand through his hair which is just as messy as the rest of his clothes. Louis and Harry are dressed perfectly for their moods; tired and mentally done.

“I don't know. Niall brought my phone in and left it right next to where Gemma sat.” Louis explains.

“She probably took it before I could notice it. I love my sister but she is just too nosy.” Harry groans out.

“Good thing that she is a detective then.” Louis comments.

A comfortable silence fills the room as Harry walks over and sits on the cot next to Louis. Louis has quickly engrossed himself in one of the many games on his phone (“My restaurant has been going bankrupt without me!”) and thus he ignores Harry. Harry doesn't mind, as the silence is more than welcomed from the cluster his life has been.

“I can't wait.” Harry says into Louis' lower back from behind him.

“Can't wait for what?” Louis asks, his fingers flying around on his phone screen.

“To get domestic with you.” Harry replies simply.

Harry snuggles fairly close to Louis' bum, but all motion from Louis has stopped. His head is turned the other way, but his blue pupils are turned toward Harry. He has an uncertain look about him.

“You...want that with me?” Louis asks insecurely.

“Of course.” Harry answers back.

Harry pulls Louis down so that he face him down on the bed. Louis curls his arms up to himself and Harry only pulls him closer. Harry takes a deep breathe and continues, “I can't wait to wake up with you every morning by my side. For you to forcefully kick me awake or to be nice and let me sleep in. I can't wait for lazy mornings with you, we do nothing but slug around together. I can't wait for rushed morning where I have to go out with a rushed peck on the cheek and a muffin in my mouth and my only motivation is the idea of coming home to your open arms. I can't wait to see you walk down an aisle toward me, the outfit of your choice complimenting your every feature as our families cry around us in happiness. I can't wait to have children with you, either with a surrogate or adopted. I can't wait to swing my children around in my arms while knowing that you will be fussing with the smaller ones on the side. I can't wait to cry with you over how fast our kids will grow and we worry about getting older. But in all of this, I know that you and I will be happy.”

Louis is in tears by now, the small droplets seeping out of his eyes. Harry thumbs away the stray tears while staring into Louis' eyes in adoration.

“How do you know we will be always happy?” Louis asks, the question croaking out of his throat.

“I know that we will be happy so long as we have each other. I can face any situation knowing that you are safe and that you are mine and I am yours. I have been dreaming about you in my life for longer than you may think.” Harry says.

Louis smiles at this, “I know.” he replies.

Harry gains a confused expression, his thicker eyebrows furrowing and his lips pouting.

“I'll tell you about it later.” Louis dismisses, kissing the worried expression away.

Harry lets it go for the time being, both of them holding back. And while Harry knows that they shouldn't be doing that based off of past experiences, he knows that for their own sanity it would be safer to wait on any heavy information. 

“You know, we can't just lay around and snuggle for another whole day.” Louis brings up.

“I beg to differ. I am completely content to do this another week.” Harry counters.

Louis giggles at this and closes his eyes. 

The door to the room opens again and two pairs of shoes can be heard walking on the tiled flooring. Harry moves a bit, as if to nod to whoever has entered. This time, Louis can freely move his head to look at the guests.

Louis cracks open his eyes and a smiling face welcomes him. Liam has always had the most puppy-ish way of greeting people. He looks seconds away from snuggling up and joining them or throwing up in love-sick disgust. Louis can't distinguish which one. 

Liam has also brought Zayn along with him, and Zayn seems to have brought gifts. Louis suddenly feels the cold impact of a laptop landing on him and then a cellphone. 

“Liam managed to snag these from Gemma before she left. I hope you cleared your search history recently, she appears to have already tried getting into them.” Zayn announces while smiling.

Both of the guys are dressed in regular clothing, it looks almost as if neither of them were injured whatsoever, but there are slight clues if you look closely enough. Such as how Liam seems to hunch a bit were he was stabbed and where Zayn favors his right leg while standing. But aside from that, they are both wearing jeans, boots, and jackets and look ready to go out again.

“Well it's good to see the couple back together. A mopey Liam is a bad Liam.” Harry teases.

“I could say the exact same to you, Harry.” Liam replies, motioning to their current position.

Louis smiles at this and looks right at Zayn. The boy looks happier than Louis has seen him in a long time. Well, since right before he left the country actually. Those were the days of a Zayn in love with no worries about him. Those days are back again in full force.

“Let's leave and let them 'heal' before they depart tomorrow.” Zayn hints to Liam, taking his hand in his own.

Liam stares at Zayn and then back at the two with no expression. He looks back and forth again before a staring back at Zayn. Zayn raises his eyebrows and that sparks a form of realization in him. He lets out a big, “Ooooh.” and lets Zayn drag him out of the room, his free hand waving at the two before the door shuts on him.

Louis giggles at the antics of the happy couple.

“Harry, don't they know that you can't have sex since you're injured?” Louis asks.

“Well the doctor never really said that I couldn't, so we actually can use this bed to our advanta-” Harry is cut off by a slap on the arm from Louis.

“And what would you do if a nurse walked in?” Louis asks.

“That's your only problem with it. Then, babe, I can do with a little voyeurism.” Harry waggles his eyebrows.

Louis rolls himself over, so that Harry can get a nice view of his back. 

“Aw, babe.” Harry moans out as he takes advantage of Louis' current position.

Harry scoops his arms around his Louis and snuggles his cheek up into Louis' hair, the hairs tickling his face. 

“Hey, Lou?” Harry calls his attention.

Louis does not reply.

“You know that I would never take advantage of you, right? Only when you're ready will I even think about asking.” Harry reassures him.

Some silence comes after, much to Harry's dismay, but Louis eventually lets out a little, “I know” in response.

The silence fills the room again, as it has been throughout the day, and the boys bask in it. They try to fill it with little conversation here and there, small talks of stories they have never shared and secrets they never reveal. The questions at hand float around them in blaring contrast to the pleasant conversation, but they both ignore the temptation to know the answers. Another time will come. 

The only breaks in their time together include small visits from the nurse for check-ups and drop offs of food from Harry's men and women. They also deliver small bouquets of flowers and some even come in with updates.

“-and the headquarters has been secured in case of any breaches from revenge. However, we do not expect any attempts as we have actually received many requests from the people who were under Grimshaw to become your subordinates.” says the older woman standing beside their cot. 

“Thank you, Jen. I can handle the requests when I am able to return to my office. You are dismissed.” Harry says to her.

She smiles at Harry, the scars on her face becoming more pronounced. She also appears to give a small bow, which shows off her flowing long hair, before leaving the room. Louis watches as another member of RR leaves the room with a formal exit.

“Why do they all do that?” Louis asks, staring at the space the woman used to be.

“Do what?” Harry asks, holding up Louis' hand in his own.

“...bow when they leave. Or even kiss my hand as some of them have done.” Louis replies, rubbing the back of his hand as if he can feel the lips of the many people that have come in. “It makes me feel like a pope or something, or maybe even a godfather.” he continues.

Harry smiles mirthfully at this comment, “Louis, I wish I really knew the answer to your question. The only possible reason has been explained to me by Niall. Apparently the treat me like some type of overlord or living god. They think that they owe me some type of debt and treat me as if they owe me their life. I personally don't like it, but the last time I told one of them to not do that, I was given a look of full astonishment. Plus, it doesn't hurt anyone and they seem happy to display the top of their heads to me.” he explains slowly.

“I swear it takes centuries for you to tell a story.” Louis comments.

“I beg to differ. I speak at the same pace as anyone else.” Harry replies indignantly.

“Yes, and Niall has naturally blonde hair.” Louis replies sarcastically.

“He could for all you know.” 

“I have seen him bleach it. I have seen the act.”

“I need photographic proof.” Harry replies.

Their friendly banter is interrupted by a nurse hurriedly bursting into the room. Harry begins to position himself for a routine check-up, but the nurse waves a hand at him. They stare at the woman who looks definitely distraught judging by her loose hair and sweat on her forehead.

“Mr. Styles, I am going to ask you to come with me for a while. You are safely able to leave this room so long as you stay on hospital premises. And this is...” she prompts, pointing to Louis.

“My fiancé, Louis.” Harry answers quickly for them.

“Alright, Louis, you have to come too.” she says before hurrying out of the room for them to follow.

Harry gets up to follow her, but Louis stops him with a hand on his hand.

“What did you call me?” Louis asks incredulously.

“Louis, you want to be with me forever, right?” he asks quickly.

“Of course, but-” Louis is cut off.

“Then we will get married as soon as we can for legal benefits. I just know that if I only called you my boyfriend then they wouldn't let you come with me, for whatever they need.” Harry explains.

“That's...the faster I have ever heard you speak.” Louis comments.

Harry rolls his eyes and pulls Louis out of the bed. He drags Louis behind him and out of the door. The nurse appears to already be down the hall. Harry quickly picks up the speed and is practically carrying Louis behind him. The woman quickly turns down a hall and Harry follows behind. He eventually catches up to her and is only one step behind.

The eventually reach a new wing of the hospital and she makes an abrupt stop. Harry stops accordingly, but Louis gets stuck in the momentum and slams into Harry's back. Harry doesn't even flinch at the hit, but Louis is left rubbing his now sore nose. 

The woman is staring into a window and Harry is looking too. Louis rounds Harry and looks through the window as well. It is the window showing the nursery room in the maternity ward. The woman's eyes are searching the babies, but Harry is transfixed on the many infants throughout the room. Some of them are being rocked, some are crawling on the ground, and one is lying in a small crib, staring at the ceiling.

“There, the one in the crib.” she jabs her painted nail against the glass toward the small baby.

Louis instantly recognizes the small infant. It is the same infant that was in the arms of that man from Grimshaw's group. He was supposedly the baby's uncle. The memory of the small child comes rushing back to Louis, and Harry has a similar look of recognition hidden in his eyes.

“That baby is without parents. And while we can easily hand the child over to the government-run orphanage, we wanted to know if you would like the option of parenting the child.” she quickly runs off.

Louis and Harry both snap their eyes to the woman, her statement sounding much more menial than the actual intention behind it. She just casually asked if Louis or Harry would like to adopt a child.

Before Louis could even open his mouth, Harry quickly jumps in.

“Why are you asking this of us? Why not just follow your legal obligations? This child isn't linked to us.” Harry says.

“And that is why I am asking, because this child is linked to **you** specifically, Harry Styles. We were able to identify the child's father, Azim Safar, along with his mother, Orah Safar. The child's name was never mentioned on any official documents, thus it was never made official. The child wasn't even known to exist by the government, they never had one hospital visit with the child. While we couldn't find the reason behind that, we were able to identify that the rest of the child's family was murdered in a massacre almost a year ago. The only survivors were the child and his uncle, who was recently...”

“We know about him. But I still do not understand what all of this has to do with us.” Harry interrupts her.

“The hospital needs to know where you want the child because the child is under the Styles name in the late Mr. Safar's will.” she answers.

Louis' eyes quickly look to Harry and then back to the nurse.

“Wait, I don't understand. I thought that you and him...”

“We will talk about that later, Louis.” Harry cuts Louis off.

“We just need an answer very soon. The child can only stay here without a legal guardian for a few more hours.” she says to the both of them.

Understanding that the two need some privacy, the nurse walks down the hall a bit, but still within seeing distance.

“Louis...” Harry starts breathlessly.

“I mean, I don't know what to say.” Louis replies.

“You only have to say one thing to me. Yes or no. Yes, we are taking this child as our own and having our first child this early on. Or no, we cannot take this child in.” Harry answers.

“I have a feeling that I already know what your answer is.” Louis says snidely.

“Louis,” Harry places his hands on Louis' biceps thus forcing them to make eye contact, “I have to admit that this is a massive decision to rush like this. But I know that we would adopt eventually. Who is to say that we can't handle our first kid right now. You are perfectly capable of taking care of a child, with you and your amazing skills with children. I can almost cry at the thought of having a husband-to-be and my own child living in my life with me. We can handle this financially and emotionally at this moment.” Harry says to Louis.

Small tears begin to form in Louis' eyes at this. He is so doubtful but the fire in Harry's eyes almost convince him. Louis' eyes move around as the cogs in his mind keep whirring. Suddenly, he shakes Harry's hands off of him and walks over to the nurse. 

“Louis.” Harry warns.

“I'm not answering yet. Just...let me do this.” Louis bites back.

Louis marches to the nurse and she straightens up at the sight of Louis coming to her. Her face is full of eagerness and Louis looks more conflicted than ever.

“Can I...see him? Like, can I just go in real quick?” Louis asks her.

“Yes, of course! Follow me.” she answers quickly.

The woman steps out and walks to the door beside the large window. She slides in a key card and is admitted entrance through. She opens the door and walks in with Louis right on her heel. She stops beside the door and Louis walks right past her. 

Louis almost tip-toes up to the crib carrying the baby. He reaches it and puts his hands on the rim so that he can look in. The infant is sleeping right now, but he looks like an angel. His little eyes are closed-shut and are fanning out his little eyelashes onto his chubby cheeks. His small hands are clenched up next to his chest and his eyebrows are scrunched-up in concentration.

Louis can't help himself and tries to put his index finger in on of the small fists. This rouses the small boy from his sleep, but instead of crying like a baby who was just woken up would do, he just blinks his eyes open. One of the fists reaches up and squeezes around Louis' finger and the eyes looks right up to Louis.

Louis watches as this small infant squeezes his finger with all of his might, as big brown eyes blink slowly up at him, and as, most shockingly, this small baby lets out a small gurgle of a laugh. Louis is gone by then.

Big, fat tears roll down Louis' cheeks blurring his vision completely. He restrains from wailing, but the whimpering in his throat reveals how close he is. He barely notices Harry's presence behind him.

“Is that a yes?” Harry whispers into Louis' ear.

Louis sniffs a bit and clears his throat.

“What is today's date?” Louis asks.

Harry stares at him curiously before quietly answering, “June 26th” into his ear.

“Cael. Cael is the name of our first child.” Louis answers back.

Harry smiles and nods to the nurse. The proud fathers are left to look down at their son in wonderment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are almost done. Dear future writers, take notes from me on how not to update.  
> Constructive Criticism is appreciated! Please tell me if you find any mistakes so that I can correct them! My tumblr is [jamesmall](http://jamesmall.tumblr.com/) if you want to message me.


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